The Holiday
by Atg543
Summary: AU. BL. NH. Brooke lives in NYC and Haley has been stuck in Tree Hill her whole life. What happens when they switch lives? Based off the movie The Holiday
1. SWAP

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or the movie The Holiday

Note: This is a fun Holiday fiction that I decided to write. I got the idea from a movie that is coming out soon. I will continue working on all of my other stories so don't worry! I guess this is my Christmas present for you:o) This story won't be long…It will definitely be finished by January 1st. Enjoy! Oh, and let me know what you think!

"What!" Brooke gasped into her hot pink cell phone as she tried to maneuver through the streets of New York City at rush hour. Usually, it was hard enough to make it around the streets of New York, but it was beyond belief during the holiday season.

"Macy- you cannot be serious! All of the flights are going to be booked! How did you all manage to get seats anyway?" Brooke questioned after Macy repeated the news.

"I can't believe you didn't get me a ticket! What are the chances that there is going to be another cancellation like that?" Brooke groaned. Her friends were going to Cabo for the holidays with out her. Granted, they had ordered the tickets after too many shots of tequila so they probably weren't in the best state of mind, but to leave her out? It's not fun unless Brooke Davis is there. Everyone knows that.

"I guess I can try to find a single ticket…" Brooke said over Macy who was apologizing over and over again.

"I'll call you when I get home." Brooke finally said, annoyed at her friends for potentially abandoning her.

After hanging up, Brooke pulled into her tiny parking spot and hurried up the stairs of her apartment complex, her Prada boots clicking on the ground. She knew that ever second counted when it came to buying tickets during the holidays.

Finally, Brooke made it to her door and began digging through her large, but fashionable, purse for her house keys. As she was looking, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her.

"Nathan," she shrugged him off as she grasped her keys, "I don't have time for this right now!" She giggled, not being able to ignore the fact that he was tickling her.

"Why the rush? Didn't you have your last final today?" He asked, following her into her apartment.

"I need a ticket." She stated simply, as if that explained everything. She didn't feel like telling him the whole pathetic story.

Nathan didn't seem to mind the vague answer; he was already pulling out a beer from the fridge. His relationship with Brooke wasn't exactly for conversation.

"Come on come on come on…" She said out loud to herself as Orbits searched its database for flights.

"No flights available for this week" The screen finally confirmed Brooke's worst nightmare.

"This is not happening!" She groaned dramatically as she turned around to find Nathan gone. "Figures," Brooke thought to herself. Nathan had realized that she wasn't in the mood and bolted.

Nathan and Brooke weren't dating. It was more like friends with benefits. Well, actually, it was just neighbors with benefits. Neither one cared to take it any further. Nathan was a hotshot basketball player who played girls more than he played the game. And Brooke, well Brooke liked to keep her options open. She always prided herself on being independent, and guys tended to get in the way of that.

Turning back to the computer, Brooke reloaded the page, hoping that it might find a cancellation. Nothing. She could meet her friends the next week, but she decided that it wouldn't be worth it to spend three days in Cabo, especially when she knew the price was going to be high.

"I guess I'm alone for the holidays." Brooke mumbled, fully aware that she was being dramatic. She could find some people to hang out with, everyone loved her. It was just the fact that everyone would know that she had been left behind. It wasn't her heart that was hurting, it was her ego.

As she started to close out of Orbits, an add caught her eye.

"_Bored with your usual holiday life? Bored with your regular life? You are not the only one! Switch lives with someone else! Click here to read more."_

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. This could be interesting.

She clicked the add and it lead her to another website.

"_Welcome to SWAP: Switch With Another Person. Through this service, you switch houses, cars, jobs, friends- everything with another person for two weeks."_

The add went on to talk about how all of the participants are background checked and SWAP will reimburse owners for stolen property.

Re-reading the add, Brooke smirked. This would definitely be interesting. She would still be alone, but at least it would be somewhere new. Maybe even some where on the beach…

She clicked on the link that said, "begin" and began filling out her information. The site allowed her to pick the top five profiles she wanted to switch with.

"Hmm" she wondered out loud as she began scrolling through the profiles. After picking her top three, girls from Miami, Los Angeles, and San Diego, she randomly selected the other two; she was sure that she would get one of her top three. Since the site provided the plane tickets she didn't even have to worry about arranging the tickets.

"_Thank you. You will be matched within twenty four hours."_

Smiling to herself, she closed the computer lid and began imaging herself lying on the beach, drinking a margarita…

XXXXX

Brooke's eyes fluttered open as she rolled over on the bed. Nathan was still fast asleep.

Wrapping herself in her robe, she made her way over to the computer.

Her inbox held about twenty messages, but there was only one she was looking for.

"_Congratulations Miss Brooke Davis! You have been matched to a Miss Haley James in Tree Hill, North Carolina!" _

"What!" Brooke yelled, her eyes getting wide. She frantically scrolled down the email trying to see they had accidentally matched her with a wrong city. But sure enough, Tree Hill was fifth on her list.

"This is not happening!" She whimpered, letting her head fall into her hands. She had already paid the $400 dollars to be matched and SWAP stated that you could not get a refund if you were matched within your top five.

"What's wrong?" Nathan yawned, as her massaged Brooke's shoulders.

"I'm going to be stuck in some hick town in North Carolina for the holidays!"

Nathan smirked, "So they matched you?" Brooke had filled Nathan in on her plan the night before. "Let me see who is going to be taking your place!" Nathan added eagerly, ignoring Brooke's glare.

Brooke reluctantly went back to the email where there was a link to the girl's profile.

_Name: Haley Scott._

_Age: 21 yrs._

_School: Junior at The University of North Carolina, Tree Hill_

_Major: Studying business_

_Job: Waitress _

_Interests: Reading, singing, writing music, hanging out with her best friend_

_Dislikes: Too much attention_

"Blah blah blah!" Brooke closed out the profile. This girl was boring.

"She's no Brooke Davis, but she is hot." Nathan commented on the photo that had been next to Haley's name.

"She's a waitress." Brooke stated in a bitter tone. She did not want to think about having to wait on other people.

"A hot waitress."

"Yeah, if you like vanilla." Brooke rolled her eyes and stood up to go get dressed, pushing past Nathan.

"Hey, Vanilla is just as good as Mint Chocolate Chip, or whatever ice cream you are." Nathan shrugged, pulling on his sweatshirt.

Brooke poked her head out of the bathroom, her eyebrows raised in doubt, "Okay, ending the ice cream analogy. Nathan, girls like that want boyfriends. Trust me, you aren't getting a taste of that."

Nathan shook his head, "First off, I thought you were ending the ice cream analogy. Secondly, just wait. By the time we get back, she will be following me around like a puppy."

Brooke laughed, throwing her head back, "Okay Nathan, I guess you will just have to prove me wrong."

Nathan smiled before walking out of the door, "Oh I will."

Brooke rolled her eyes again as she stepped into the hot shower. She would just have to make the best of this situation. After all, it was only two weeks. It wasn't like it would be life changing.

XXXX

"Lucas!" Haley ran up to the tall blond as he walked into the café.

"I got matched!" She said excitedly, shoving some papers into Lucas' hands.

"You are not seriously doing this are you?" He frowned as he began reading the papers.

_Name: Brooke Davis_

_Age: 21_

_School: New York University_

_Major: English _

_Job: Partying?_

_Interests: Men, partying, fashion, sex, shopping_

_Dislikes: Boys, boring people, fat people_

Haley smacked Lucas on the arm. "We've been through this! I have never even been out of Tree Hill, and look! Now I get to go to New York City! How amazing is that!"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "That's awesome Haley, but this girl?" He pointed to the picture of the attractive brunette. "She is nothing like you!"

"That's the point! Come on, pretend to be happy for me?" She pouted, taking back the papers.

"Okay!" He held up his hands in defeat as he sat down at the counter.

"When do you leave?"

"In two days!" She said, as if she had just realized how soon it was.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Lucas commented as Haley began making a packing list on a napkin.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Lucas, it's just two weeks! Everything will go back to normal after that. Okay?" She pleaded, wanting her best friend to be excited for her.

"Your right. Sorry Hales, I'm just mad about not getting to spend the holidays with you." He pulled her into an awkward hug, since he was sitting down.

"Thanks Lucas. That means a lot to me." She flashed him another smile and got back to work.

As she picked up coffee mugs from the dirty tables, she couldn't help but laugh. She was going to New York City. The idea was still so unreal to her. This experience was going to expand her world and she couldn't wait. She had to admit though, this Brooke Davis girl sounded a little wild to her. However, she pushed those thoughts out of her head. Brooke's friends were probably going to meet her and then completely ignore her, thinking that she was boring. Then she could just focus on exploring the city. "Yeah," she thought to herself, she was going on this trip for the city, not the people.

XXXXXXXX

A/n: Well? What do you think?


	2. Fire and Ice

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or the movie The Holiday

Note: THANKS for all the reviews!! Okay- here is the next chapter! I am going to do one chapter on Brooke, then one on Haley, and so on. Don't worry – Brooke isn't going to be so snobby! She is going to grow a lot. It will sort of be like Brooke from season 1 compared to Brooke in season 2, 3, and 4. So don't worry! Okay, on to the chapter!

PS: You can see a picture of Brooke's dress from this chapter on my profile.

XXXX

Brooke struggled through the airport, lugging her two suitcases behind her and her carry-on bag strapped across her shoulder.

The airport was extremely small Brooke noted, wishing that she could find a Starbucks somewhere.

That last two days hadn't been too exciting for her. All she had done was pack. She thought about calling this Haley girl to find out about Tree Hill but decided against it. She didn't want to know how boring this town was.

Finally, she made it outside and managed to catch a cab. "At least there's one thing close to New York City." She guessed that the cab was going to be the closest thing to the city that she was going to find.

As she sat in the back of the cab, pouting despite herself, her cell phone rang. "Hey! Brooke!" Macy shouted loud enough for even the cabdriver to hear.

"Oh hey!" Brooke forced enthusiasm. Macy was off in Cabo tanning and drinking a Pina Colada when Brooke was stuck in some tiny town that didn't even have a Starbucks.

"Are you in North Carolina yet?" Brooke had told all of her friends about her trip. Of course, she had pretended that she was thrilled so she wouldn't seem pathetic. And she might have exaggerated a few details…

"I can't believe you get to spend a two weeks in someone else's mansion and not have to lift a finger!" Macy continued before Brooke could answer.

Okay, maybe she had exaggerated a lot…

"I know- it's going to be amazing." Brooke lied once more, sarcasm dripping from her words. Luckily, Macy wasn't one to notice.

"Well, I have to go! Lots of shopping to do! They have some really great designers here…" Once Brooke started lying, it was hard to stop.

"Really? I didn't know that-"

"Okay! Bye!" Brooke snapped her phone shut, causing one of the stick-on jewels to fly off and lose itself in the dirty carpet of the cab.

Rubbing her temples, Brooke thought about turning around and just hopping a flight home. But then she thought of her empty apartment and her sunbathing friends and decided that she was going to make the best of this trip.

"If Tree Hill isn't going to bring the fun to me, Brooke Davis is going to bring the fun to Tree Hill" she thought to herself, a genuine smile finally coming to her lips.

XXXX

"Here is the address Miss." The cab driver said as he pulled over on the side of the road.

Brooke shot him a confused look before looking out the window once more. "Are you sure? This is a café." Did Haley live in a café? Oh, god, this was so humiliating.

Stepping out of the cab, she took a deep breath and rearranged her thoughts. "No. This is going to be okay. After all, the cast of Friends lived above a café, right?" She said out loud to herself, all the while trying to remember if she had seen a hotel anywhere.

"Haley doesn't live here." A voice came from behind her. She turned around to find a tall, blonde, probably about her age, unloading her bags from the trunk.

She raised one of her eyebrows as she crossed her arms across her chest, "Who are you?"

The guy raised his eyebrows in return, surprised at her tone. "I'm Lucas Scott, Haley's friend. She wanted you to come to the café first so I could show you around." He said as he placed her bags down on the street.

"So you live here?" She turned her gaze back to the café.

Lucas laughed, "No, but my mom own the place. Oh, and this is where you are going to be working."

Brooke's face quickly formed a frown as she stomped her foot, "I forgot about the whole job thing." She whimpered, feeling sorry for herself.

Lucas, on the other hand, didn't seem to feel sorry for her at all.

"Yeah, you know? A job? How people make money?" He stated, seemingly a little put off by Brooke and her snobby attitude.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Thanks Webster. You know, I'm not an idiot." Brooke was standing her ground. It was common for guys to think that she was stupid because of her beauty. No one could have both right? "Wrong." Brooke always told herself when a guy talked down to her.

Lucas held his hands up in defense, "I never said you were. I'm just trying to practice my New York attitude." He smirked at this statement, amused at Brooke's attempt to control her temper.

"You know what-" She stopped herself before she could say anything else. This guy wasn't worth it. "Can you just bring me to Haley's house?"

Lucas shook his head but proceeded to pick up her bags. Brooke decided just to thank him once they got to Haley's house and ignore him for the rest of the trip. After all, she was sure that they wouldn't be spending much time together. Already she could tell that their personalities were like fire and ice.

"Maybe opposites attract, but they never work out in the end. It's only sooner or later until someone gets burned…or frozen?" Brooke thought to herself.

Lucas wanted to laugh at the expression Brooke was making. Once again, one of her eyebrows was cocked high above the other, and as she seemed to be overly eager to examine her bright red nails.

She was just as he had expected her to be, snobby, rich, and spoiled. The only thing he hadn't expected was her beauty. Her picture didn't do her justice.

"Well, this is it." Lucas finally said after a silent ten-minute walk. Brooke looked up the sidewalk to find a small, average looking house. It was…quaint.

"Well, thanks." Brooke managed to smile as Lucas handed her the keys to the house.

"Yeah." He muttered after taking a deep breath. "Um, I'm supposed to invite you to a party at TRIC tonight. Everyone wants to meet you." Lucas finally forced himself to say.

Brooke turned her body to face him and place a hand lightly on her hip. "TRIC?"

"It's a club. An all ages club but after eleven most of the high school kids clear out." Lucas wondered why he felt the need to defend TRIC to her. Why did he want her to be impressed?

Brooke sighed, there really wasn't any reason that she could say no. "Sounds fun." She smiled at Lucas as if he were still in high school.

Lucas ignored her tone, deciding not to cause trouble. He had promised Haley that he would make this work. If Brooke decided she wanted to go home, Haley's trip would be cut short and he couldn't do that to her.

"I'll pick you up at ten then?"

"Okay." She nodded and awkwardly waited for him to walk away before making her way up to the house.

Looking at the clock on her phone, she shook her head. Six hours until Lucas returned.

XXXX

Brooke smiled at herself in the mirror. She looked hot – there was no denying that. She was wearing her new dress that she had purchased at Barney's the week before. It was a simple black dress, but it clung to her in all the right places and didn't leave much of her body to the imagination. And after all, didn't guys go crazy over "little black dresses?" Not that she was trying to find a guy here. However, she did want to get a reaction out of Lucas though, just to prove to him and herself that she was in control.

Her hair was perfectly straightened and framed her face. She barley wore any makeup, just enough to high light her face. The only piece of jewelry she wore was a gold and black beaded necklace. Subtly sexy was the look she was going for. And judging by her reflection, she had achieved it.

Checking herself one last time, she checked her watch. Only thirty minutes until Lucas was going to pick her up.

She sighed as she took a seat on Haley's bed. She had already unpacked, taken a shower, and snooped through every inch of Haley's room.

Nothing really had interested her. Everything seemed so _normal_. There were no hidden black books or dangerously cut clothes to be found.

However, she did find herself liking the coziness of the room. The teddy bear on the bed, the pink, fluffy towels in the bathroom, the pictures of whom Brooke assumed was Haley's family, and all of her awards from high school posted on the walls.

Brooke wondered how Haley had managed to hold onto her childhood in the crazy process of growing up. Brooke couldn't remember the last time she had had a teddy bear, and the only pictures that hung on her walls were those by up and coming artists, whose names she couldn't even pronounce.

Her ringing cell phone tore her away from her swirling mind. "Hello?" She answered, careful not to chip her freshly pained nail polish. They were painted onyx in color. Brooke never used simple words like black when she could use "onyx" and sound more glamorous.

"Um, Brooke?" A voice answered back.

"Who is this?" She countered. It was a guy's voice, but she couldn't figure out who it was. She was careful to always give out fake numbers at clubs, so it shouldn't be any creeper trying to score. The voice sounded so familiar though…

"Lucas. Is it okay if I pick you up a little early? I have to help my mom at the club."

Oh.

"How did you get this number?" She asked, ignoring his question.

She could hear the frustration in his voice as he tried to control his temper. She had to acknowledge that she was acting a little bitchy. "Haley gave it to me."

Oh.

"So is it okay?' He tried again.

"Um, sure. When are you going to be here?"

At that moment she heard a knock on the door.

"How about now?"

Rolling her eyes, she clapped the phone shut. Grabbing her purse, she made her way to the front door and said a quick prayer, asking God to not let her die of boredom at the "all ages" club.

She pulled the door open and _almost_ let her mouth drop open. Lucas cleaned up _good_. He was wearing a black dress shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Looking down at herself, she wanted to laugh. They matched perfectly-subtly sexy.

Brooke wasn't the only one who was having trouble breathing. Lucas' mouth actually did drop a little. He knew it was lame, but he couldn't help himself from giving her a full body look over. As his eyes made his way up her long legs and studied each curve of her body, Lucas decided that Brooke Davis defined hot.

Brooke smirked in triumph, although still a little surprised at her own reaction. "Ready?"

Lucas shook his head, "Uh, yeah."

_Smooth_, he thought to himself as he led her to his car.

As Brooke slid into the seat, she decided that God was answering her prayers. As long as she had Lucas to look at, there was no chance of being bored.

XXXX

The club was already crowded when Lucas pulled into the parking lot. Luckily for Brooke and her heels, he had a reserved parking spot because his mom owned the club. That's what he has told her on the car ride over.

Brooke had kept to herself, just nodding in all the right places. She didn't mind listening to Lucas, actually, she liked it. It was just that she didn't want the conversation to turn towards her parents. That would not be good.

"Ready?" Lucas copied Brooke's earlier words as he opened the car door for her.

"A gentleman, I thought you were all extinct." She smiled as she took his hand to help herself out of the car.

"Well, we are a rare breed, but every once in a while we show up to hand you a handkerchief or lift you over a puddle." He smiled back, trying to not let on how her hand in his was making him feel.

"No," he thought to himself, "this girl is a stuck up bitch who cares about nothing but herself."

But as she laughed, her dimples lighting up her smile, he couldn't actually make himself believe that.

As they walked into the club, Lucas and Brooke were immediately surrounded by a ton of people. Names were thrown out and hello's were exchanged what seemed like a million times. Brooke smiled and basked in the attention. She was the biggest news in a small town, that couldn't be all bad could it? Lucas left her to go and help his mom, so after the crowd faded, Brooke made her way over to the bar.

"Can I get a chocolate martini please? Easy on the salt." Brooke said without even looking at the bartender.

"Um, how about a beer?" A girl's voice made Brooke look up. The voice had come from a tall, skinny, blond whose perfect curls fells just above her shoulders. She was wearing a tee shirt that read, "I do, but not with you" paired with some jeans.

"You don't have martinis?" Brooke questioned unbelievably.

The blond laughed, "No. So, a Bud light?" She asked even though she was already opening the bottle for Brooke.

Sighing Brooke took the beer and reluctantly took a sip. She didn't like beer, but she needed a little alcohol in her system.

"So you are the Manhattan girl?" The blond asked after she had served a red head girl who had been shooting Brooke awful glances since she had arrived.

"Brooke." She corrected as she took another sip of her beer.

"I'm-"

"Peyton!" Lucas' voice entered the area. Peyton shrugged her shoulders as Brooke laughed.

"Nice to meet you Peyton." Brooke smiled, ignoring Lucas as he sat down next to her. She didn't want to let herself go goo goo again.

"Hey Luke. Want something?" Peyton asked, once again already opening up a beer.

"Thanks." He said after taking a long sip. Brooke had no clue how anyone could actually swig a beer. Not that Lucas was gulping it; he had just taken a rather large sip for Brooke.

"So you two have met?" He gestured between them and they nodded.

"Cool." He added before the three went silent. Brooke felt really awkward, she wasn't used to having lulls in conversation.

Feeling a little better after the beer, Brooke stood and stretched out her hand. "Dance?"

Lucas, surprised, looked to Peyton, who just raised her eyebrows. Deciding there was no harm in dancing with her, he took her hand and let her lead him to the dance floor.

Reanimation by Blackalicious was playing loud through the speakers as they reached the dance floor.

Brooke immediately started swaying her hips perfectly to the music and laced her arms around Lucas' shoulders.

Lucas was a little hesitant at first, but as she pulled him closer to her, he just let himself go. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, something that she didn't seem to mind.

As they danced, pressing harder against each other with each beat, neither could deny the thick attraction that was flowing between them.

Brooke grinded into Lucas as he brought his face closer to hers, his breath hot on her neck, which drove her crazy.

As the song ended, Brooke decided that she couldn't last another song. She hadn't felt this attracted to a guy in so long.

Taking his hand once again, she led him through the club to a hallway that had caught her eye earlier. She didn't know if it was his looks, his voice, his touch, or the way that he talked to her that drove her crazy, but she knew there was something about this guy.

She let herself fall against the wall and pulled him up against her.

Brooke smirked as she wrapped her arms tightly around Lucas' neck.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, although there was a smile on his face.

"Well, I just figured that since you are here and I'm here, and you're hot and I'm hot, and we obviously have this fire-ice thing going on we could…" She laughed, knowing that she was babbling.

"Oh really? Who is fire and who is ice?" He said as his face inched closer to her face.

"I'm definitely fire. You, Lucas, are ice." She traced his jaw line with her finger as she talked, knowing that it was driving him crazy.

"Why am I ice?" He said, once again shrinking the space in between their faces.

"Because when I am done with you, you are going to need a few good cold showers."

Lucas was surprised at her boldness, but wasn't about to complain.

"Is that so?" He asked as he pushed himself against her as she rested against the wall.

"Yeah, think you can handle the heat?" She whispered in a husky voice before capturing his lips in hers.

As he kissed her back eagerly he had to admit, he wasn't so sure. And for the first time in her life, Brooke wasn't either.

XXXXX a/n: Let me know what you think! Up next: Haley gets to New York and meets her new neighbor who has a problem with knocking... 


	3. Are You Crazy!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill

Note: I was amazed by all the reviews! Thank you so much! Oh, and I was reading the first chapter, and I accidentally typed "Haley Scott" when I meant to type "Haley James." Sorry for the mix-up! Nathan and Lucas both have the last name Scott, you will see how that plays out later… ;o)

XXXX

Haley couldn't stop smiling as the cold night air whipped across her face. She stood, looking up at her new apartment, amazed. It was only a few blocks from Times Square and even though she had yet to see the inside, judging from the outside, she knew it was going to be spectacular.

"This is it." She said aloud to herself. "I am finally here, out of Tree Hill. This is my chance to experience everything good about-ahh!" Haley shrieked suddenly as she felt her back get drenched with water. She turned around to see what had happened and another huge burst of water came straight into her face.

"Are you crazy!" Haley yelled after the cab that was speeding away.

She looked down at the new jeans and shirt she had spent the last of her money on the day before and wanted to cry.

"You have got to be kidding me!" She whispered to herself as she began to shiver from the dirty, freezing cold water that was soaking through her clothes.

She quickly ran up the steps and fumbled through the potted plants on the side of the apartment building. SWAP had reported to her that Brooke had hidden a key in one of them. Haley quickly surveyed the twenty or so pots that lined the doorway and once again repeated, "You have got to be kidding me!"

By the time she found the key, after going through ten plants, her teeth were chattering and she couldn't feel her hands.

She quickly made her way up the stairs, almost slipping from the water dripping off her jeans.

She fumbled with the key before finally making it into the dark apartment. She locked the door behind her, and then found the light switch.

"Wow." She said despite her aggravation. The apartment was amazing. It was double the size of her own, and everything seemed to be in perfect place. It looked like the apartments on E! News.

All the furniture was modern, everything in black and white. The only color she saw was when she entered Brooke's room. The colors in her room turned into midnight blue and gold. Over Brooke's midnight blue bed was a gold mosquito net that hung over her queen-sized bed.

Haley felt like she was a princess. Judging by the warmth this room made her feel, she figured that the living room was just for show. In the corner of the large room, there were stacks of fashion magazines and a mannequin that had fabric scattered around the floor surrounding it. Haley remembered that one of Brooke's hobbies was fashion.

On the wall opposite of the bathroom there was a huge bookshelf filled with tons of books. "Lucas would die," she thought as she dropped her suitcase on the floor.

She felt another chill go through her body and she remembered that she needed a shower badly.

The bathroom was just as spectacular as Brooke's room. It was also tiled in midnight blue. White candles were laid out randomly through the whole bathroom. There was also a huge shower/bathtub calling Haley's name.

Pulling off her wet clothes and dumping them in the washer she had seen in a tiny room near the kitchen, Haley then jumped into the hot shower.

As the warm water heated her skin, Haley felt her optimism come back. "So what if I got a little wet? That could have happened to anyone. Tomorrow will be much better."

She took her time washing her hair with the shampoo she found in the shower. She knew it was expensive because it was written in what Haley guessed was French and smelt like an actual rose bush. It had to be imported. They didn't sell this stuff at Target.

Finally, after a relaxing thirty minutes in the shower, Haley stepped out and wrapped a towel around her. As she did this, she felt her stomach rumble.

Remembering that she hadn't eaten since lunch, she fixed her towel around her so it would stay up itself and walked into the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, she was disappointed to only find beer.

"Does this girl not eat?" She said aloud before her eye caught sight of a note taped to the counter.

_Haley,_

_Sorry my fridge is empty. I usually clear out my fridge when I leave town. Plus, I didn't know what you like to eat. But the number to my favorite Chinese restaurant along with some other take out places is on the fridge. They are all open 24 hours. Oh, and there is a small grocery store down the street and I have a credit there. Feel free to get whatever you want._

_B. Davis_

Haley smiled; it was nice of Brooke to do that for her. First thing tomorrow she would stock up with food, but tonight, she was craving some Chinese. Luckily for her, New York City didn't have the same hours as Tree Hill. Delivery in Tree Hill stopped at 10:30 and it was already 11:00.

After placing her order, Haley decided she would have a beer. She never drank, but what the heck? She was in New York City, had an apartment to herself, what was one beer going to hurt?"

As she began looking through the drawers for an opener, she heard the door behind her open.

Her heart began beating out of control as a million possibilities began spinning through her mind. She had heard stories about girls who lived alone in New York…She grabbed a knife in the drawer and spun around to meet her fate.

As she spun around, she came face to face with the person who had broken into the apartment. She was surprised to find a very attractive guy, about her age, standing before her with a smirk on his face.

"Hi Haley." He laughed and walked past her to grab the fridge where he casually grabbed a beer for himself.

"Who the hell are you!" She yelled, while clutching at her towel, making sure it didn't fall down.

"I'll tell you if you put down the fork." Haley looked down to her hand, where in fact, she was holding a fork. She must have accidentally grabbed it instead of the knife.

Feeling her cheeks heat up with embarrassment, she set the fork down and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Okay, who are you." She stated again, still on edge.

"Nathan Scott. Your roommate." He grinned like a devil as her jaw dropped open.

"Brooke didn't say that she had a roommate. Plus, there is only one bedroom." She whispered, scared to hear his response. "What, Scott?" She thought to herself before he answered. That was a little freaky…but Haley brushed it off, deciding it was just a coincidence.

"Oh, I don't think that's ever been a problem for us. Are you okay? You seem a little…startled." He said again, still smiling.

"Am I okay?" She gasped, turning her gaze into a glare. "No! I am not okay! Some guy just walked in on me in a new city, while I'm in a towel, saying that he is my roommate for the next two weeks in a one-bedroom apartment! No! I am not okay!" She yelled at him and he took a step back.

This was insane! How could Brooke not tell her that she had a roommate!

"Calm down!" Nathan mumbled, seeing this girl wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"I'm not really your roommate. I live next door. I just stopped by to say hello."

Haley's mouth dropped open even more as she glared at him.

"How did you get in? I locked the door?" She questioned, taking another step away from him.

"I have a key." He shrugged, as if it were logical.

"Are you her boyfriend or something?" She questioned again.

At this Nathan laughed, "No way. Brooke's hot, but we are strictly friends with benefits."

Haley couldn't stop herself from making a disgusted face, "Friends with Benefits?"

"Well," he laughed again, "maybe just neighbors with benefits."

Haley shook her head, not believing the situation she was in. "Well, while I'm staying here, I would like that key back."

Nathan gave her a shocked look, "Excuse me." What was this girl's deal? No one ever turned Nathan away.

"You heard me, Mr. I don't know how to knock, I want the key back."

He mumbled something to himself before placing the key in Haley's hand.

She smiled triumphantly and gave him a look as if to say, "You can go now."

"Okay," He held up the hand that wasn't holding his beer, "I'll go. I was just stopping by to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine." Haley responded quickly, opening the door for him.

Just like that, Nathan's smirk returned, "A little high on yourself aren't you? Going around telling everyone you are fine."

Haley shook her head, ignoring him. "Bye."

"See you later Haley." He winked before she could shut the door.

An hour later, as Haley sat eating her sesame chicken, she couldn't stop thinking about Nathan.

She couldn't deny that he was very attractive, but that's not what she kept thinking about. His attitude towards her was something she had never experienced. His blatant flirting and his wink before she shut the door – she wasn't used to that kind of attention.

She didn't like him, she decided, as she placed her leftovers in the fridge. He was arrogant and slimy, not qualities she was looking for. Not that she was looking…

Looking at the clock, she decided it wasn't too late to try Lucas. He was probably up waiting for her call anyway, worried about her.

She picked up her cell, surprised that there weren't any missed calls from him, and pressed down on three, his speed dial number.

It rang only twice before going to voicemail. "That's weird," Haley thought before re-dialing. It was as if he had declined her call.

Finally, on the sixth ring, he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey!" Haley said, happy to hear his voice, "Are you okay? You sound a little breathless."

"Ugh, yeah…I'm fine. How are you?" He stammered, causing Haley to wonder what he was doing.

"Lucas!" She whispered harshly, "Are you with Peyton?" That would be bad, Haley knew. He and Peyton had dated through their Junior and Senior year in high school. They broke up before college, on pretty good terms, but every once in a while they would relapse and spend the night together. Haley knew it wasn't good for either one of them to keep up that behavior, especially when they both knew they weren't meant for each other.

"No!" He almost yelled, "I'm definitely not."

Haley rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore his weird behavior. "So, you met Brooke?"

"Yes, I met her…She is a little bitchy, kind of controlling…but very hot." Haley could swear as he said this he heard a slap and a giggle in the background.

"Ugh Luke! I don't need to hear about how hot she is please!" she continued, "But just make sure she doesn't feel uncomfortable there okay?"

She could almost hear the smirk in his voice, "Yeah, definitely. I will make sure she is very comfortable." He stated, making Haley raise her eyebrows, even though he couldn't see her.

"So how is the Big Apple?" He asked, his voice slowly becoming more controlled.

"It's…" Haley didn't want Lucas to worry about her, so telling him about her being drenched with water and her encounter with Nathan was out of the question, "amazing." She finished, happy with her choice of words.

"That's great Hales! But hey, I'm kind of tired so I'll call you tomorrow?" He added quickly, and again, Haley could swear she heard a giggle.

"Alright, tomorrow." She said, giving up. Actually, she was pretty tired herself. After hanging up, Haley threw on her favorite cotton pajamas and crawled into bed.

As she closed her eyes, she decided that tomorrow was going to be much better. It had to be.

XXXX

Haley woke up to the sun shining brightly through her window. "This is a good sign!" She thought to herself as she sat up in bed. Taking a look at her phone, she saw three missed calls from Lucas. Smiling, she knew that he was calling to apologize for the night before.

After brushing her teeth, she unpacked her clothes into the drawers that Brooke has graciously left for her. She decided on wearing her jeans from the night before, which had been washed, and a brown sweater. She threw on a knitted poncho that her mother had made for her and decided to call Lucas after she picked up some groceries.

As she stepped out into the hall, she almost covered her boot in pancakes. Lying on the ground right in front of her door was a plate of pancakes and a note.

_Sorry for upsetting you last night. Forgive me? Dinner at 9:00? Don't say you have plans! I know you don't! Nathan." _

Haley couldn't help but smile, even though his statement of "I know you don't" upset her a little. She guessed that there was no harm in going out to dinner with the guy. As long as she made it clear that they were friends – no benefits- everything would go smoothly.

Finally, Haley stepped out onto the streets of New York – ready for anything. Brooke had said that there was a grocery store a couple of blocks away, but she hadn't said which way.

"Um, excuse me-" Haley attempted to ask a woman passing by, but as soon as Haley started speaking, the woman sped up and totally ignored her.

Shocked, Haley tried again to ask a boy, who looked to be about sixteen, "Do you know where the nearest grocery store is?" She smiled, hoping to look friendly.

"Yeah, up my ass." He grumbled while continuing on his way.

Haley's mouth dropped again, "Well, okay then!" She thought to herself, "I will just have to find it myself."

That, however, was unnecessary.

"Haley." A voice called from behind her and she jumped about ten feet.

"Seriously, can you stop doing that?" She called out to Nathan, who was standing on the stairs behind her, with her hand resting over her heart.

"Sorry." He smirked, clearly not remorseful.

"Nice, um," He gestured to her poncho, a huge smile spreading across his face."

"Poncho." She finished, a blush spreading across her face.

"Yeah, okay." He remarked sarcastically, making the cause of the redness of her cheeks to turn from embarrassment to anger.

"What are you? The fashion police?" She glared, trying her best to look intimidating.

Nathan shrugged, still smiling and walked a few steps down so he was on the street.

"Where are you headed?" He asked, ignoring her attempt at anger.

"I'm trying to find the grocery store, but no one will help me." She admitted reluctantly.

"The one where Brooke always goes? I can walk you there." He started walking down the street, a signal for Haley to follow.

Haley only took a couple seconds to take off after him. She needed to know where the grocery store was, and this could be her only shot. But to avoid having to talk to Nathan any longer, she pulled out her cell and called Lucas.

"Please answer," she thought to herself as Nathan gave her a sideways glance.

"Hales!" She had never been so happy to hear Lucas' voice.

"Hey Lucas, sorry I missed you calls this morning, I didn't even hear my phone ring."

"That's okay. I was just calling to apologize for the short conversation last night." Haley smiled, classic Lucas. He hated upsetting people and was always quick to apologize.

"That's okay." She copied his words. "So, are you going to tell me the truth about you being with Peyton last night?"

He immediately objected, "I swear, I was not with Peyton last night! You can even call her! I was just, um, busy…" He let the sentence open-ended, an obvious sign that he was hiding something. But with Nathan listening to her every word, she didn't want to get into it.

"So how is New York today?" Lucas said after a moment's silence.

"It's great!" Haley smiled, actually believing her words. As she walked down the streets, people were everywhere, busy with their interesting lives, the weather was perfect, and things were looking up. Well, except for the fact that Nathan was walking beside her.

"Lucas?" Haley heard a girl say in the background. "Do you know where my shirt is?"

"LUCAS SCOTT!" Haley yelled, ignoring that fact that Nathan looked at her questionably.

Lucas didn't say anything for a second and then he finally spoke, but not to Haley, "Yeah, I think it's in under the bed."

Then silence. Haley knew that Lucas wasn't going to say anything until she did, so she spoke up.

"Not with Peyton huh?"

"I'm not…that was um…Brooke." He mumbled and Haley almost dropped the phone.

"Brooke as in Brooke Davis! The girl I SWAPed with?" Haley was now yelling loudly, not caring that Nathan's interest had peaked.

Lucas was silent, and Haley knew that he was probably holding the phone a few inches away from his ear.

"She is there ONE night and you have already slept with her? Lucas! You don't do things like that! What were you thinking?" Haley continued on, not caring if he was listening or not; she needed to vent.

"Actually, Haley, this is Brooke."

Oh.

"Oh, um…" Haley was momentarily taken off guard.

However, Brooke apparently was totally fine with the whole situation.

"SWAP said trade everything, so I just thought that meant guys too…" Haley wanted to throw up in her mouth as Brooke tried to sound innocent.

"Lucas is not my guy. Therefore there is no switching of guys!" As Haley said this, she caught a glance of Nathan, who was leading her into a small store, and his face was practically glowing.

"Well, if he isn't your guy, then it's okay if we-"

"Don't finish that sentence. Let me talk to Lucas." Haley cut Brooke off, but Brooke only giggled and called out Lucas' name.

"Are you mad?" Lucas sounded genuinely worried, and Haley had to calm herself down. She really had no right to be mad at him. It was his, um, body…throwing the thoughts out of her head, she sighed.

"No, I'm not mad. Just be careful okay?"

"Yeah." He said, although his tone sounded as if he were being anything but careful.

"Okay, well I have to get groceries. I will call you later?" She mumbled and hung up after they said a quick goodbye. In one day everything had turned upside down. She always planned things, but nothing was going according to plan.

Nathan was patiently waiting with a shopping cart. He was leaning against the wall of the store, and Haley couldn't get the thought that he looked just like a model out of his head.

"Ready?" He asked, not knowing that the question held more significance for her.

Haley took a long, deep breath and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm ready."


	4. Game On

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or The Holiday

Note: THANK Y'ALL for all the reviews! Amazing! This will not be another update until after the 18th because I am right in the middle of finals. I hope you understand! Oh, but while you are waiting, you should definitely go check out the actual movie "The Holiday" because it is a really cute movie!

XXXX

Brooke stifled her giggles by placing the back of her hand to her mouth as Lucas' cheeks returned to their normal color.

"Well, thanks for that." He grumbled as he pulled on his shirt, trying to be mad at Brooke, but it was a hard task.

"Oh come on!" She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind so she was leaning into his back, "She doesn't even care. Plus," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Would you have been able to resist if she did?"

Lucas couldn't help but grin as he linked his fingers with his, locking her arms in place. "I guess not."

Brooke managed to pull herself out of his grasp, and proceeded to strap on her heels. She knew that she would be making the walk of shame back to Haley's house, considering she was wearing the exact same outfit as the night before. This made her start giggling once again as she imagined the looks on everyone's face. She certainly had brought the fun to Tree Hill.

"Where are you going?" He asked, although he began putting on his own shoes.

"Haley's house? I think I have to work today, and I don't think your mom would appreciate it if I showed up in the exact same clothes as last night."

Lucas nodded, agreeing that his mom would be a little upset. As Brooke picked up her purse, he shrugged his shoulders a little uncomfortably.

"So…I'll…I'll, um, call you later…and" Brooke rolled her eyes and pressed a finger to his lips before Lucas could finish.

"Lucas, this was just a one time thing, a chance to get past all the sexual tension. Okay? So don't worry about me. I'm not in love with you. I'm fine. You are off the hook." She replaced her finger quickly with her lips before Lucas had a chance to process what she had said.

Off the hook? That was every guy's dream. She couldn't be serious, could she? But as she flashed him a smile before skipping out the door, he realized that she was perfectly serious. And as the door closed behind her, he couldn't decide how that made him feel.

XXXX

Brooke stumbled into the café, shivering from the cold. It had started snowing on her way over to the café, and Brooke wasn't properly dressed for the weather.

After finding her way back to Haley's, which was blissfully close to Lucas', she had taken a quick shower, pulled on a black suede skirt and a plum sweater. She paired this outfit with her knee high boots, and realizing that she didn't have time to do her hair, pulled it up into a high ponytail, which allowed her purple hoop earrings to show.

She realized too late that her wet hair and short skirt wouldn't keep her warm on the walk over. In New York, it had been okay to wear whatever because you could always just hop into a cab.

"You must be Brooke!" A woman with short, black hair smiled up at her. "Sorry I didn't get to meet you last night! It's always so busy at TRIC."

"Karen." Brooke smiled knowingly as she shook the woman's hand. "Oh, and it's okay. I met so many people last night, I was a little overwhelmed!"

Karen laughed, and signaled for Brooke to follow her behind the counter. "Well, you are fifteen minutes late, but since it is your first day, I will let it slide." Karen was still smiling, but Brooke knew she was serious.

"We aren't busy right now, but during the peak hours it gets crazy, so I'm going to go ahead and show you how to do everything right now."

Brooke nodded as Karen began showing her where everything was, and Brooke let her thoughts trail off to the night before. Her night with Lucas had been, well, amazing. She had never had someone treat her so carefully, as if she could break or disappear at any moment.

The sound of the coffee maker shook her out of her thoughts and she realized Karen was in the middle of showing her how to work it. "Oh well," she thought to herself, her thoughts drifting off once again. "It can't be that hard."

XXXX

A long five hours later, and Brooke was about to cry. No matter what she did, nothing was right. Her hot chocolate was too cold. Her soup bowls were never filled up enough. She never calculated change correctly. She was always too slow to take everyone's order. And to top it off, Lucas had yet to come in. The worst part was that she could have prevented it all.

The first way she could have prevented it was by actually paying attention when Karen explained to her how to work everything. The second way she could have prevented her agony was by telling Lucas that he could call her.

She didn't know why she had said it, especially since butterflies had formed in her stomach the moment she had kissed his lips again that morning. But she had, and now she was miserable.

"Hey Cinderella." If she had been standing, she would have fallen down out of surprise.

Leaning back on her knees, she put a hand to her heart. "You scared me!"

Lucas grinned, and cocked on of his eyebrows, "What are you doing?"

Brooke gave him a look as if to say, "Um, are you blind," and held up the sponge in her hand. "Your mom wanted me to mop."

This sent Lucas into a fit of laughter. 'Brooke!" He said, breathless from laughing. "Why don't you use a mop?"

Brooke's mouth dropped despite herself as Lucas pulled out a mop from behind the counter.

Throwing her head into her hands, Brooke decided that this moment was the most embarrassing of her short life. She was _never_ going to open her eyes again. "Lucas must think that I am an idiot!" She thought to herself.

Brooke was smart; she just never cleaned. Plus, she had never thought to look under the counter for a mop, and the sponge was the only thing she could find.

"Excuse me, can I get a hot chocolate?" Brooke heard a women's voice call out.

"Yeah, I'll get it." Lucas responded before Brooke could even get up off the floor.

Brooke watched thankfully as Lucas made the women her hot chocolate and took care of an elderly man who wanted some soup.

At that moment, Karen walked in with a bag full of Christmas decorations. "Hey Lucas!" She smiled while dropping the bags and giving Lucas a hug. Brooke couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.

Just by watching them for a few seconds she could tell that they were very close. They actually looked like they had a mother-son relationship. And no matter how many times Brooke told herself that she didn't need a real parent, she knew she did. Her own parents were off somewhere, living in a permanent mid-life crisis, believing that paying for Brooke's school and apartment was more than enough.

"Brooke?" A voice broke through her thoughts and she made her way around the counter to help Karen with her bags.

"How was your first day?" Karen asked as she began unloading the strings of Christmas lights.

Brooke's face turned pink despite her best efforts to stop it and she saw Lucas hold back a laugh. "It was…hard" Brooke finally finished as Lucas handed her a box of ornaments.

"Well, first days are always hard." Karen responded while throwing away the shopping bags. "Okay, well, you are off the clock. I'll just close up myself. You look tired!"

Brooke sighed thankfully and grabbed her purse; she really was tired.

"It's okay mom, I'll close up. You look tired too, and I haven't been doing anything today. Plus, you need some rest before TRIC opens up tonight. I heard there is a big party there."

Karen sighed, "Yeah, I think it's a birthday party. Brooke, if you are interested in some extra money, I might need some help tonight at TRIC. I know you are tired but…"

"Brooke Davis is never too tired for a party!" She responded with ease, all remnants of her sleepiness fading away. When one lives in New York City, one learns how to keep going and going and going…

"Okay, well I will see you both tonight!"

After the door closed, Lucas turned to Brooke and grabbed her hand. He knew it was a risk, after what she had said that morning, but he needed to touch her.

"I think you need some hot chocolate."

Brooke once again felt the butterflies flutter into her stomach at his touch and she was grateful that he didn't let go of her hand as he struggled to make her drink with his free one.

"You make it look so easy." She smiled, as she took a sip from the hot mug he had just handed her.

"It's not that hard…the directions are on the bag." He smirked, leading her over to the couch.

She laughed as she took a seat on his lap, wrapping one arm around his shoulders. "That's not what I mean. I mean, you and your mom. Your relationship."

At this, Lucas looked a little taken aback, but quickly responded. "It's not always easy, but we do get along better than most. I think it's because we are all each other has." As he said this, there was not a trace of anger or sadness in his voice, and Brooke wondered why.

"Where is your dad?" She knew it wasn't exactly a question to ask someone you just met, but when did that ever stop her.

"I don't know. He left Tree Hill before I was born. Honestly, I don't even care. If he is the kind of guy who would do that, I would rather not know him." Again, Lucas' voice wasn't bitter or sad, it was just calm.

"So I take it you aren't close to your parents?" Lucas asked after a moment's silence.

Brooke always avoided talking about her parents. They, to her, were her one, big weakness. But as she turned her head to look at Lucas, she felt herself wanting to tell him. However, before she could, she shook her head and smiled.

"You are so cute." She smirked, before kissing him strongly on the lips. Brooke was a pro at getting guys to forget about talking.

But to her surprise, Lucas pulled back. "Brooke?" He questioned, looking into her dark eyes.

"I…" Brooke was literally speechless. He actually cared.

"Brooke." He stated again, before sliding her off of his lap, but grabbing both of her hands in his own.

"It's nothing." She attempted again to drop the subject, but she could tell that Lucas wasn't going to give in that easily.

"They just…I haven't seen them since I left for college, and even in high school I was lucky to catch a glimpse of them on their way out." She hated taking about them because she hated sounding pathetic. Brooke Davis is not pathetic.

"I'm so sorry Brooke." Lucas said as he rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand. "They don't know what they are missing."

At this, Brooke finally met his eyes again, "This is getting complicated." She said simply, before kissing him softly.

"And that's not complicated?" He grinned, letting the serious side of the conversation fade away. He could tell that it had been hard for Brooke to tell him about her parents, and he didn't want to push her.

"I just want this to be fun. I'm going back to New York in two weeks and…"

"I can show you fun Brooke Davis." Lucas grinned like a devil before pulling her up off the couch. He, like Brooke, knew that there was something more than "fun" between them. But for now, he was going to take what he could get.

"Where are we going?" She asked through a smile as Lucas locked the door to the café.

Lucas didn't answer as he pulled her down the frozen sidewalk.

"Lucas it is cold!" She whimpered, but he only pulled of his jacket and handed it to her, not stopping for a second.

Lucas finally stopped at a building called Q-Zar.

"Are you ready for this?" He laughed as Brooke gave him a look.

"That depends. Define "this."" She pleaded as he opened the door for her.

"We are just about to close-" A guy called out as Brooke stepped in the warm lobby. "Oh, hey Lucas!" Brooke watched as Lucas greeted the guy before introducing herself.

"I'm Brooke Davis." She said as she shook his hand.

"I'm Keith Scott, Lucas' uncle. I've heard a lot about you from Haley!" His smile was so warm that Brooke couldn't help but immediately like him.

"Can we have two suits?" Lucas asked his uncle, letting go of Brooke's hand, something the immediately noticed.

"Suits?" She questioned as Lucas pulled out two large, black vests.

"Welcome to Tree Hill's first and only laser-tag." Keith laughed at the expression on Brooke's face as Lucas tried to hand her a vest.

"Excuse my French, but what the hell is laser-tag?" She said, cocking an eyebrow while placing her hands on her hips to avoid taking a vest.

Before Lucas could respond, Keith threw some keys on the counter and patted Lucas on the back. "Lock up when you are done." Not taking his eyes off Brooke, he nodded.

"It's like having a water-gun fight, except we are using lasers. See," he pointed to two doors, "inside there is a maze. We both wear these vests and we each get a laser gun. Once inside there, we run around and try to shoot each other. Your vest will vibrate every time you have been hit, and when you die, it will turn red. Oh, and you can't shoot someone from behind."

Before she could protest, Lucas was strapping the vest on her and leading her towards the double doors.

When they stepped inside, it was pitch black.

Brooke tightened her hold on Lucas' arm, "Where are the lights." As she was speaking the words, the lights went on. Only, they weren't exactly normal lights.

The room was still black, but now Brooke could make out a maze of neon walls. She had to admit, it was pretty cool. She let go of Lucas' arm as he handed her a laser gun.

"So we just-" She turned around to find that Lucas was gone.

"Lucas!" She yelled out, getting scared despite herself.

When he didn't answer, she slowly began wandering through the maze. "This is exactly how horror movies start out." She whispered aloud and she held her laser gun out in front of her, as if it would protect her from a real serial killer.

Then, she saw him, and she was pretty sure that he hadn't seen her yet. She spun around behind the wall so he couldn't see her even if he looked her way. As she calculated the right time to ambush him, she had to hold in a laugh.

She hadn't this much good, pure fun in such a long time. It was refreshing. Lucas was refreshing. If only he lived in New York, then maybe they could have something…"No." Brooke told herself. She couldn't be thinking that way. It was only going to make it harder to leave. She just had to enjoy what they had. Every single second mattered and she decided that she was not going to waste one.

Brooke looked around the corner and spotted Lucas walking closer, still not seeing her. She took that moment to jump out and shoot her gun.

"Ahh!" Lucas yelled, as Brooke broke into a fit of giggles.

She gave him a smug look before turning around and running before he could shoot her. As she ran, something that was made easier since she took off her heels before starting, she heard Lucas yell out, "Game on Brooke Davis!"

Oh, yeah. It was on.

Next up: Everything can change in a New York Minute 


	5. Cliche

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill

Note: I needed a break from studying, so here you go:o) Once again, I know this gets old and meaningless, but THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your wonderful reviews and support! It's the best Christmas present:o) The song in this chapter is "Christmas of Love" by Little Isidor and the Inquisitors. It's a really fun, upbeat song, so download it and listen to it while reading:o) Oh, and this is still day two in the story at the beginning.

XXXX

"Nathan stop!" Haley groaned as Nathan threw another bag of Doritos into her shopping cart.

"Oh come on! You are shopping on Brooke's dime. Well, her parent's dime, but it's all the same." He smiled, throwing in some whip cream.

"What in the world do I need that for?" Haley asked, stopping the cart and crossing her arms. The only thing in the cart that she had put there herself was water, soda, some chicken breast, and a pint of strawberry ice cream. Everything else Nathan had thrown in.

She immediately regretted her question as Nathan's smile grew three sizes. "I think we can find some use for it-"

Haley didn't let him finish; she just grabbed the cart and rammed it into his side.

"Ow!" Nathan called out, grabbing his side. "What was that for?"

Haley ignored him and just kept strolling her cart down the isle. Rolling her eyes to herself, she contemplated leaving the cart and coming back later. However, Nathan quickly caught up to her and grabbed a box of Cracker Jacks out of the cart.

They walked in silence as Nathan ate some Cracker Jacks and Haley filled her cart with food that she was actually going to eat.

Finally, as Haley pulled the cart into the check out, Nathan seemed to regain his voice. "Okay, I guess can ignore the fact that you almost tried to kill me over by the peas and give you this."

Haley looked up at him as she began loading the groceries onto the counter. He was holding a colorful, plastic bracelet. Before she could respond, he grabbed her hand and slid the bracelet onto her wrist.

"Don't say I never gave you anything." As he said this Haley scoffed, but on the inside, she couldn't ignore the fact that her hand was still burning from his touch.

XXXX

"Really, I think I can find it myself. Or I can just take a cab…" Haley reasoned. She wanted to go to the Rockefeller Center to skate and Nathan was insisting that he bring her.

"Who goes skating by their self? Unless you are like some loner or loser…"

"I am not a loner, or a loser. I just don't see why you need to come. Don't you have something more important to do?" Haley looked up from her cell phone, which she was using to text message Peyton to find out the scoop on Lucas and Brooke.

Nathan laughed, "Yeah, but she's coming over later."

Haley's mouth dropped open and she made a gagging noise, "You are such a…guy."

"Um, thanks?" He mused while opening the apartment door. "So I'll come get you for skating later? I have basketball until five, so I can get you at six?"

Haley let out a deep breath and flipped her phone closed, "yeah I guess." She knew that she wasn't going to talk Nathan out of bringing her and she didn't really want to have to walk home by herself on her second night in New York.

Nathan flashed her a smile before closing the door, sending Haley's stomach into a flip-flop. "What is my deal?" Haley thought to herself, but she didn't have long to figure it out. Her phone rang loudly and Haley quickly picked it up.

"Hey my ex-best-friend turned man-whore!" Haley answered the phone with a sarcastic tone.

"Hey Haley." Lucas sighed into the phone.

"Is Brooke there?" Haley questioned while opening a bag of chips. She didn't even notice that they were the Doritos Nathan had picked out.

"No, she's actually at the café working." Haley was surprised to find that he sounded a little disappointed.

"Oh. Okay…so are you going to tell me what's really going on with you two? I know you Lucas. You don't just sleep around with random girls. Unless you count Peyton, and I'm not."

"Nothing is going on, really. It was a onetime thing, she even said so. And I know I don't just sleep around with random girls, but it just happened. I don't know, it's like we have this connection."

"You said have."

"What?"

"You said you have a connection. You didn't say had."

"Well, I meant had."

"Lucas…"

"I don't know Haley! She is just…refreshing. I mean, obviously it isn't going to go anywhere because she lives in New York. But, it's fun for now. Plus, I don't think we could ever really work out. We are completely opposite."

"Her room is full of books. Classic books." Haley didn't know why she felt the need to tell Lucas this, but for some reason it came out.

"What?" Lucas' voice was full of shock.

"She's an English major. Remember?" Haley said after biting into a chip. "So maybe you two aren't so different."

There was silence over the phone and Haley knew that Lucas was thinking about what he had just learned.

"But don't tell her I told you about the books!" Haley added quickly.

"Why not?"

"I don't know…Just let her tell you if she wants." Haley knew that she was somehow trying to protect Lucas. If he started forming a bond with this girl and then she came back to New York, Lucas would go right back into his brooding which meant a lot of nights with Peyton. The less of a connection they made, the better.

"Okay…But hey, I don't want to talk about this anymore. Tell me about New York! Have you gone anywhere?"

Glad for the subject change, even though she was the one who had brought it up, Haley sighed, "No, not yet. But I am going to the Rockefeller Center tonight to ice skate. And I think I might go shopping a little before then. Do you want an "I Love New York" tee shirt or a tiny Statue of Liberty?"

Lucas laughed, "Um, I guess the Statue of Liberty. Wait, are you going by yourself?"

Haley let her mouth drop at this. What was the big deal?

"Who else would I go with?" Haley asked, for some reason not wanting to tell Lucas about Nathan.

"I don't know? Haven't any of Brooke's friends introduced themselves to you?"

"This isn't Tree Hill Lucas, people have more to worry about than a small town girl in a big city. But if it makes you feel better, I am going to the rink with someone."

"Who?"

"Brooke's next door neighbor, Nathan Scott." Haley said quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.

"Nathan as in a guy and Scott as in my last name?"

"Yes, he is a guy. And yes, his last name is Scott. I thought that was a little freaky too. Any long lost brothers you want to tell me about?"

Lucas laughed and assured her that no, none that he knew of.

"So…you like this guy?"

"What? No! I just met him. Plus, he's kind of an ego maniac sometimes."

"Calm down! I was just asking. So he's a jerk huh? Why are you going to the rink with him?"

"Because he offered and like you implied, I shouldn't go alone." She answered, standing up to throw away her empty chip bag.

"Plus," she said, catching a glimpse of the plastic bracelet around her wrist, "If Brooke isn't how you thought, maybe Nathan isn't how I think. Maybe there is a little more to him."

XXXX

Haley dropped her bags on the floor of the apartment and quickly grabbed a bottle of water. She had been shopping for three hours.

After hanging up with Lucas she had managed to hail down a cab, which took her to Barney's. She had never been there before, but she had always heard that it was one of the best places to shop. Little did she know, it was four stories tall and was packed with so many people that she was sure some kind of fire code was being broken.

The prices had been outrageous and the people had been rude, but she had managed to buy a really cute sweater. It was just white, but it was extremely soft and looked really good on her. She also bought a black newspaper boy hat that a women had actually stopped to tell Haley it looked good. She picked up two jackets that were on sale, one for her and one for her sister. Finally, she bought a silver heart necklace for Brooke. She decided she was going to leave it on Brooke's counter before she left as a thank you.

After Barney's she had gone to a little street shop and had bought some post cards for her family and Lucas.

Looking at the clock, she decided that she had enough time to take a shower and get ready before Nathan showed up. And to her surprise, she was actually anxious for him to come and she didn't know if it was because she was so excited to see the Rockefeller Center or to see him or both.

XXXX

"You look good." Nathan smiled after taking a good look at Haley, which made her a little uncomfortable.

She was wearing her new sweater with a pair of dark jeans. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun. The only makeup she was wearing was mascara, and only a little.

Nathan couldn't believe how different she was from all of the girls he knew. Sure, he hung out with tons of beautiful women. But they didn't have the same kind of beauty Haley had. She was a pure beauty.

"I mean, you look really beautiful."

Haley, not believing that Nathan would actually use the word "beautiful" unless it was to get someone into bed, rolled her eyes. "Don't even try it. You can work your whole "I'm Nathan Scott, Mr. Big Shot, scoring my touchdowns" on somebody else because-"

"I don't even play football."

Haley shook her head, "Whatever. The point is at the end of the day all your bluster and BS don't mean anything to me. Because I am not a tramp and I am not sleeping with you!"

"Whoa!" Nathan held up his hands. "Jumping the gun a little? Who said I wanted to sleep with you? All I said was you look beautiful. Can't you take a compliment?"

Haley bit her lip and tore her gaze away from him, her cheeks turning the color of a rose. Well _that_ was embarrassing.

"Sorry," she finally mumbled, "and thanks."

Nathan, amused at Haley's blushing, just laughed, "It's okay. So, ready to go?"

"No," Haley thought to herself as she nodded and followed Nathan out the door, "I'm not ready to deal with the way your hand resting on my back is making me feel."

XXXX

"Look, I don't want to show off or anything, but-"

"Isn't that your default setting?" Haley interrupted him as she clung to the side of the rink. "Sorry." She mumbled after managing to stand up straight.

"As I was saying," Nathan said as he stood perfectly stable in front of her, "I am pretty good at this, so if you want me to help you, I can."

Nathan held out his hand and found himself wanting Haley to take it. "What is the deal?" He thought, jumping a little as Haley took his hand, instantly warming it.

The music was blaring loudly over the rink as couples skated around, and Haley smiled, letting herself believe for one second that she was holding the hand of her boyfriend.

_Baby picture you and me, hanging round a Christmas tree,_

_Covered lights and an angel up above, Christmas of love_

Haley stumbled a little as Nathan began to pull her on the ice. "It's okay, you got it!" Nathan found his voice again and began gliding her along the edge of the rink.

Haley tried to focus on her feet, but all she could think about was Nathan's hand on hers. She knew he was trouble, that much was clear. But so was Brooke, and Lucas was having fun with her. Why couldn't she have a little fun?

_Baby everywhere we go, bring a little mistle toe,_

_We'll be hugging we'll be kissing like two turtle doves_

_Christmas of love_

Nathan smiled to himself, since Haley was looking down at her feet, but then quickly frowned. He barely knew this girl and he already knew there was something different about her. Too bad she would never give him a chance. But even if she did, she lived in North Carolina.

_Telling everyone Santa's gunna come,_

_Have a lot of fun at Christmas time_

_Now he's on his way, _

_Everybody say have a Merry Christmas of love _

A rowdy teenager sped closely past Haley's other side, scaring her, and as she went to move, forgetting she was on ice, she felt her feet go out from under her.

_Just imagine making out by the firelight,_

_Christmas of love, Christmas of love_

Forgetting to let go of Nathan's hand, she pulled him down with her. Of course, he landed directly on top of her. "Well this is cliché." Haley laughed despite herself, noticing that Nathan never let go of her hand.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Nathan started laughing too, forgetting the awkward position they were in.

_Telling everyone Santa's gunna come,_

_Have a lot of fun at Christmas time_

_Now he's on his way, _

_Everybody say have a Merry Christmas of love _

After a moment, the laughter stopped and they were left looking at each other. Nathan had never worked so hard to control himself. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he knew it wasn't the best idea. Nathan began lifting himself up, surprised that he was actually thinking about her feelings.

However, he felt her grab his jacket and pull him back down.

Haley had no clue what she was doing. This was not rational. This was not her. But, for once, she didn't care.

"Care to make this an even bigger cliché?" She smiled, propping herself up on her elbows before placing her free hand on the side of his face, and bringing her lips up to his.

_Baby, make a little wish, then you put it on your list, _

_Santa's sending everything you've been dreaming of, _

_Christmas of love, Christmas of love, oh, Christmas of love_

XXXX

A/N : That was SO fun to write! Hope you liked it!

Next chapter: "What are we doing?" Brooke asked, wiping a some snowflakes off of her skirt, afraid to look into his eyes. "Living."

Next up for Nathan and Haley: Nathan opens up to Haley over some hot chocolate, and finds out a life changing fact…


	6. Risk

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or "The Holiday."

Note: Once again, reviews were amazing! I'm sick (which gave me a little inspiration for this chapter), but I'm feeling a lot better! Sorry for the wait.

XXXX

"Thanks! I'll see you tonight!" Brooke smiled as she walked out the door of Karen's Café.

The cold air blew softly against Brooke's cheeks as she wrapped her scarf more tightly around her neck. After a week of working at the café, Brooke was actually finding herself loving it. The customers all seemed to know her by name now, and Karen was really sweet. Her hot chocolate had even been called "delicious" by a couple of customers. Granted, they had been teenage boys who had become regulars since Brooke had started working, but it was still nice all the same.

"Hey pretty girl," she heard someone say as she tightened her coat around her. The night was the coldest one she had experienced in Tree Hill.

"Hey you," She giggled, gratefully taking Lucas' warm hand in her own. "How was your day?"

"Good, just hung out at the River court. There's a game tonight, if you want to see me play…" He trailed off suggestively.

"I would really like that, but I told Karen I would help her out at Tric tonight."

"But you've helped her out every night this week! I don't think she will mind if you take one night off." Lucas thought it was really sweet that Brooke kept volunteering to help his mom, but he had to admit he was jealous of the time he lost with her.

Brooke bit her lip, considering her options. It was true, she hadn't taken a night off since she had started working. But she liked working at the club. She had gotten to know Peyton pretty well and could see them becoming really good friends. She made a mental note to ignore the fact that she and Lucas had dated.

"I guess I can take one night off." She said lightly, as if she weren't that excited to spend the night with Lucas.

The truth was, she was finding herself thinking about him all the time. Whenever they weren't together, her mind brought her to him.

They had been spending every second together when she wasn't working. Hanging out at the café, going to Keith's Q-Zar, or simply taking walks together. It was simple, normal things, and very routine compared to what Brooke was used to. But, she found herself loving it.

Lucas grinned as Brooke called Karen and politely asked his mom for the night off. He loved spending time with Brooke, which was something foreign to him. He hadn't even been slightly interested in a girl in this way since Peyton, and that was when they were in high school. Their random hookups meant nothing to either of them.

However, the more time he spent with Brooke, the more he knew that he should step away. After all, she was going back to New York in a week. But he couldn't, and if he were honest with himself, it was because he wasn't trying all that hard to push her away.

"So," Brooke smiled, her dimples lighting up her face in the street light, "Are you any good at basketball? I mean, my neighbor, Nathan, plays and he's professional. So, if I'm comparing you to him, which I am because I've never seen anyone else play, you have some big shoes to fill.

Lucas laughed and squeezed her hand, "I think I will be okay. I could have played professionally but, ugh…there were some complications." Lucas didn't want to get into his HCM. There was no reason – she didn't need to know.

Before Brooke could catch on to his avoidance of the subject, Lucas continued. "Yeah, I've heard a little about that Nathan guy. Haley's been hanging out with him a lot. We have the same last name you know. Weird."

Brooke bit her lip, "Yeah that is weird. But you said that Haley and Nathan have been spending a lot of time together?" Brooke's red alert instantly went up. Not because she was jealous, but because she was nervous. From what Lucas had told her about Haley, she knew that she was the kind of girl who could fall for Nathan. Hell, any girl could fall for Nathan. The problem was getting him to fall back.

"Yeah, Haley's been talking about him everyday. I think they might have a thing. It's good for her, she hasn't dated much."

"Is Haley the kind of girl who has "flings"? Brooke wondered.

"No, not really. But, she knows that she is going to be coming back to Tree Hill, so I can't imagine her thinking that it is going to turn into something more. She's smart enough to guard her heart."

Brooke looked up at Lucas as he said this, evaluating his words. She was going back to New York. How smart was she? She hadn't been guarding her heart at all, not after that one night at the café where she had simply said something about not complicating things. But despite her early attempts, things were complicated. She found herself falling asleep at night wondering about Tree Hill's English program. When she caught herself with those thoughts, she quickly shook them away. But that pretending didn't erase the fact. The fact that she was falling in love for the first time, with a boy she ultimately couldn't have.

"Brooke?"

Brooke emerged from her thought to find that they had arrived Brooke took in her surroundings. The court was indeed, a River court, as it sat directly on a river. The lights form the boats were bright enough to light up the court just enough to play.

"This is my world." He smiled down at Brooke, who was letting herself pretend for one second that he was talking about her.

"It's beautiful Luke." She whispered before giving him a light kiss on the lips.

"Hey Luke!" Someone called out and Brooke pulled away.

"Hey Mouth." Lucas nodded to the guy who had spoken. Brooke remembered meeting him once at the club. Soon after, a few more guys showed up and they began a game. Brooke sat on the nearby picnic table with Mouth.

"So are you and Lucas dating?" Mouth asked.

Brooke opened her mouth to answer, but then realized she didn't really know. So she quickly made up something, **"**Here's my philosophy on dating. It's important to have somebody that can make you laugh, somebody you can trust, and somebody that, you know, turns you on... And it's really, really important that these three people don't know each other."

Mouth smiled, his mouth almost taking up his whole face, thus, Brooke figured his nickname. But it could have also come from his narrating of the game.

"Well, which one is Lucas."

Brooke bit her lip, "All of them." She wanted to say, but she didn't. "Oh, Lucas, he is my eye candy." Her smile was a little forced, but when she saw how her comment made Mouth a little uncomfortable, she laughed. Brooke Davis had been called bold since the day she was born.

The wind started to pick up after a while, and Brooke's jacket was of no help. She saw Lucas' sweatshirt off to the side and pulled it over her head. It was unbelievably warm and smelt just like him.

Lucas looked over at Brooke, who was chatting to Mouth, both of them smiling and laughing. He couldn't believe, how after just a few days, this girl had managed to make her way into the deepest parts of his heart. Was that even possible? Was this feeling of love really lust in disguise? He didn't know; all he knew was that he never wanted to feel any other way. As he noticed that she was wearing his sweatshirt, he smiled.

"You make that look really good." He smirked, walking up to Brooke, who was once again laughing at something Mouth said.

"Oh, I know." Brooke smirked back and added a wink.

"But how am I supposed to stay warm?"

At this, Brooke bit her lip and gave him her best seductive look, "I can think of something…"

Mouth rolled his eyes and hopped up off the bench to go and join the other guys.

As Brooke giggled, Lucas grabbed her hand, "Well, I'm very interested to know what you have in mind Brooke Davis."

XXXX

"I'm sick." Brooke mumbled into her phone, pulling her blankets up around her face. Her legs were achy and she could hardly breathe. Her throat was sore and her ears hurt. She knew she looked awful.

"What's the matter?" Lucas asked over the phone. He had left to go pick up breakfast.

"I'm sick." Brooke repeated, aggravated.

"I'm coming," Lucas responded quickly, hanging up the phone. He quickly replaced the donuts he had pulled out from the back of the café and heated up some soup.

Meanwhile, Brooke tried to sit up, but that only made the pounding in her head worse. "Ughh." She groaned aloud to herself. "This isn't happening."

"Brooke?" Lucas finally got back, and rushed over to her side. Even Brooke thought it was a little dramatic.

"I'm fine Lucas. Well, I'm not fine, but I'm not dying either." She almost laughed but it turned into a cough.

"I'm so sorry Brooke…" He said, placing a hand on her forehead. "God, you are burning up!"

"What are you doing?" Brooke said, trying hard to keep her eyes open.

"Calling my mom, she should have something to give you."

"Don't leave." She whispered, reaching her hand slowly out to find contact with Lucas. He took up her hand in his, and kissed her palm.

"Mom, hey…"

Brooke tried to stay awake to hear Lucas' conversation with Karen, but she dozed off.

XXXX

"Brooke, hunny?" A sweet, soft voice lulled Brooke out of her restless sleep.

"Mom?" Brooke mumbled, not really knowing where she was.

"No, it's Karen, Lucas' mom. I need to take your temperature."

Brooke nodded slowly, and opened her mouth for the thermometer.

"Oh wow. You have a temperature of 104 degrees. We need to get you to a doctor right now." Brooke could barely hear Karen, her voice sounded so far away.

"I don't think I can walk." Brooke whispered, even though Lucas was already lifting her up off the bed.

"Shh." Lucas soothed her, brushing the hair out of her face. "I've got you."

XXXX

Brooke slowly let her eyes flutter open. The room was bright and unfamiliar.

"Brooke?" She heard someone whisper. "How are you?"

She turned her head to find that it was Lucas who had been speaking.

"What…" She began, fully realizing that she was in the hospital.

"You have the flu. You needed to get some fluids pumped into you because you got dehydrated. The doctor said you should be able to go home today though. It's a twenty-four hour thing."

"The flu?" Brooke moaned, trying to turn on her side but felt the tugging of her IV in arm. How could she have gotten the flu? Brooke hadn't been sick for years. Now, all of a sudden, while she is on vacation, her body decides to rebel.

As she was thinking this, a realization hit. "Wait- why aren't you sick? Wouldn't I have given it to you-"

"I already had the flu shot." Lucas said, silently thanking his mother for dragging him to the doctor's. He remembered whining about how he was old enough to take care of himself. Apparently, he still needed his mom sometimes.

Brooke propped herself up on the bed and looked around the room. A small bundle of flowers were on the table next to her bed.

"Did you get me those?" She laughed and Lucas blushed.

"Pulled them from the neighbors yard." He admitted, laughing at himself.

Brooke sighed, "I can't believe I am in the hospital. A little dramatic, even for me." Being a drama queen had never bothered her before, but after seeing the way Haley lived, so simply, she found that she didn't always need all the attention.

"I don't mind taking care of you." Lucas admitted, blushing again.

Brooke bit her lip to keep a huge, girlish grin from spreading across her face. The things that Lucas said to her made her feel like there were ten thousand butterflies zooming around in her stomach.

However, at the same time, she also felt a drop in her stomach. It was almost time for her to leave. She couldn't let this go to far. Usually, dropping a guy wasn't a big deal to Brooke. After all, if there was one word any of her friends would use to describe her, besides sexy, would be independent. Brooke Davis didn't need a man to complete her. But as Lucas ran his fingers across Brooke's cheek, she knew that she didn't have to give up her independence to be with him. Lucas never tried to control her.

"I'm an English major." She suddenly said, sitting up some more. "I want to be a writer. Hopefully for Vogue or Vanity Fair. My favorite ice cream is Peppermint – you know the kind they only make during the holidays? I love the color pink, but my favorite color is really midnight blue. I hate people who borrow my books and dog ear the pages and I love it when there is heat lightening at night."

Lucas' eyes widened as Brooke finished her speech, which left her out of breath. "Brooke. Why are you telling-"

"I want to know everything about you and I want you to know everything about me." She finally let herself smile that girlish grin that made her feel so vulnerable.

"This could be risky." Lucas warned, secretly doing summersaults inside.

In an instant, Brooke's signature eyebrow raise appeared on her face along with a sly smirk. "I always like a little risk."


	7. Brothers

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or the Holiday

Note: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING REVIEWS! Special shot out to all of you who came over from the CW Boards! Sorry this has taken awhile – I'm back in school and everything now.

Also, if you have time, check out the sneak peak of my new story, "Risk Meets Danger" (Working title). It's up on my LiveJoural – the link is on my profile!

XXXX

"So," Haley said as Nathan reached out for her hand, "Where are we going?"

Nathan had been planning a "secret trip" and wouldn't give Haley any clues.

"You are about to find out!" He laughed at her impatience. It was the only quality that he recognized from Brooke.

Haley sighed as she gave up and took his hand.

The past few days had been…wonderful. Surprisingly, Nathan had been a perfect gentleman since their kiss, although it had been a little awkward after.

"_Okay." Haley said after Nathan finally pulled away. Both were completely oblivious to the other skaters who were all staring at them as they skated._

"_Okay?" Nathan breathed, wondering why he was reacting this way. Haley was just another girl. He had kissed hundreds of them. Why did this feel different?_

"_Okay." Haley repeated, having no idea what else to say. She wanted to kiss him again, but her own embarrassment, which was causing her cheeks to turn red, kept her from moving._

"_That's all you are going to say?" He laughed, trying to mask his own embarrassment. "I mean, usually I get a 'damn" or "ohhhhh Nathan," he groaned mockingly._

_Haley rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up off the ice. "Oh Nathan," she whispered with a new found confidence in his ear seductively – or what she thought to be seductive. She had never tried to be seductive before. But it seemed to work since she heard Nathan's breath catch in his throat. "Oh Nathan," she repeated once more, "I've had better." Now it was Haley's turn to smirk and Nathan's turn to drop his jaw._

_Haley laughed at his face and tried to "walk away" gracefully, but she forgot she was on ice and went barreling into another skater. She was graceful all right. Luckily, Nathan didn't decide she was a complete idiot or klutz. Instead, he just helped her out of the rink._

"_Want some hot chocolate?" Nathan asked as Haley pulled the skates off her already swollen feet._

"_Sure." Haley smiled back- glad he was letting her forget about the kiss._

"_So," Nathan's smirk returned as he held the door open for her "About that kiss…" He trailed off as Haley's face turned unbelievably red._

"_Look- can we just forget about that whole thing. I was just-" She began talking really fast, panicked._

_But Nathan just laughed and cut her off, "Want to try it again?"_

Since then they had basically become inseparable, except for when Nathan had basketball practice. He had taken her to the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, Times Square, and several other New York cites.

They never took their physical relationship further than kissing, but emotionally they were becoming more and more attached.

Nathan had never met someone who was so willing to talk and listen to him like Haley. It was refreshing and he found himself dreading her departure.

"We're here." He finally said, stopping in front of the NYC gym.

"You are bringing me to the gym?" Haley frowned. She had been expecting something…well, better.

"I want you to see me play." He smiled, not smirked, Haley noticed.

"You didn't tell me you had a game tonight!" Haley lightly punched Nathan in the arm. She had kept asking him if he had a game while she was in town but he had diverted her questions every time, now she knew why.

"Well," He laughed, "I thought you might have guessed considering I'm wearing a suit and tie. I have to wear this when I show up at every game."

Haley blushed. She had thought he was just dressing up to bring her out to dinner or something.

"I have to warn you though," Nathan grabbed Haley's arm and pulled her to the side of the building so the hordes of people flocking into the gym could enter. Haley noticed that a lot of them were staring.

"I'm kind of…" Nathan looked for the right words to end his sentence. He didn't want to sound arrogant. He had never worried about that before, but being around Haley made him want to be better.

"A big deal?" Haley continued for him, raising and eyebrow and looking behind Nathan's shoulder.

Nathan turned around to find a large group of girls, who barely had any clothing on despite the cold, standing behind them, all wearing "I love Nathan Scott" tee-shirts and holding pens and posters of him to sign.

Nathan let out a deep breath and turned back to Haley. "Sort of." He finally responded to her last statement. "A lot of photographers are going to be taking our pictures when we walk in. Sometimes then end up in US or People. Rarely though – it's only when news is slow. There are also probably going to be people taking your picture while you are watching the game. Are you okay with this?"

Haley's eyes grew large and her mouth dropped. "No way! This is crazy!" She wanted to scream and run back to her, Brooke's, apartment. But then she realized that she came to New York for this. Well, not exactly this, but she came for excitement and change. This was definitely both. At least she was wearing her cute, dark jeans, and a beautiful dark green wrap sweater that she had borrowed (without asking) from Brooke's closet.

"Yeah," Haley smiled softly, and Nathan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze before leading her towards the gym.

"Nathan Scott!" A thousand voices screamed at once as they tried to make their way down the packed hallway that led towards the gym.

"Who are you with?"

"What's your name baby?"

"Is it true you went out with Britney Spears?"

"Paris Hilton?"

"Are you engaged?"

"Are you really looking to transfer to USC?"

"Is that your sister?"

Haley's mind spun as Nathan ignored the thousands of questions and kept pulling her in the right direction. She didn't know how celebrities put up with this.

"I have to talk to People – they paid for a five minute interview." Nathan leaned down and whispered in Haley's ear and the flash bulbs went crazy.

"Okay." Haley responded because there was nothing else to say.

Nathan walked a little further before turning in a room labeled "Press."

Inside a small woman with jet black hair was smoothing out her hot pink skirt, which fell way above her knee length boots.

"Nathan!" She said loudly as if they were old friends. Haley watched as Nathan awkwardly hugged her and then took a seat on the couch opposite her and the camera crews. Nathan motioned for Haley to join him. She almost protested but the women seemed like she was going to explode with excitement and Haley didn't want to cause a scene.

"Well well!" The woman, who introduced herself as Candice Nackers started, "This is certainly a change." She grinned some more as she looked at Haley who felt like she was being picked apart from her gaze.

"Can we start?" Nathan asked, taking the attention away from Haley.

"Sure!" Candice clapped her hands together excitedly and Haley had to hold back a laugh.

"Nathan Scott. You are said to be the greatest player to come to NYC, or even the NCAA in years. What do you have to say about that?"

Nathan cleared his throat, "I don't know about that. I just go out onto the court and do what I know and what I love." He smiled, and Haley noticed it was a little forced. She didn't doubt that he loved the game; she just knew that he didn't like the position he was currently in.

"You are very modest!" Candice laughed again, "Is that why all the ladies love you? You were voted the hottest male in sports and were featured in People's one hundred hottest men. How does that make you feel?"

"Of course that makes me feel very good about myself, but what matters most to me is what people think about my personality."

This statement seemed to shock Candice, "But you were quoted as saying "Only ugly people say internal beauty is what matters."

Nathan took a deep breath, "I did say that. Now I am taking it back. As I mature, I am realizing what matters." He said, not really even knowing where is words were coming from.

"And what matters to you now?" She grinned wickedly as she looked at Haley.

"Well, basketball matters to me. I will always love the game. And there might be a certain girl that has me falling head over heels."

Candice's face lit up like she had won the lottery. Haley on the other hand could only stare at Nathan, not knowing whether to me mad at him for bringing her up in the interview or to kiss him for saying the words she had secretly wanted to hear.

"Might this girl be sitting right next to you?" Candice said to Nathan, although she was already looking at Haley.

Nathan shrugged, a playful smirk on his face. "Might be."

"Is this your girlfriend?" Candice pressed, leaning closer to the pair.

"I don't know yet. I haven't asked her." Nathan mused, turning to Haley. "Would you consider being my girlfriend?"

Haley was literally shocked into silence. This was so…so…perfect. She didn't care that she was going back to Tree Hill. She didn't care that she barely new Nathan. She didn't care that she was being filmed and her every word could show up in a magazine.

"Yes." She smiled, as Nathan's eyes sparkled with happiness. Ignoring the claps of Candice, she was obviously imagining her bonus, Nathan leaned down and gave Haley a soft, quick kiss.

"Times up!" A press manager called out and Nathan jumped up, grabbing Haley's hand.

"Nice talking to you Candice!" Nathan called out before pulling Haley out into the mob of reporters.

Haley was glowing now, and she didn't even care that a thousand cameras were all around her and she didn't care that Nathan wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. She just didn't care. Or was it that she cared more than she thought she could?

Finally, they made it into the restricted hallway where only players were allowed. "Gus is going to bring you to you seat." Nathan smiled and motioned to a guy dressed in all black.

"I'll see you." He winked before heading off into the dressing room.

XXXX

Haley took her seat. It was courtside- she couldn't believe it. This was so much different than watching Lucas at the River court. "He would love this!" She thought to herself, and she felt a pang in her heart. She was having an amazing time, but that didn't mean that she didn't miss her best friend.

"Hey." A raspy but nice voice pulled her from her thoughts. She turned to find a guy, about her age, sitting next to her. He was dressed in some jeans, a black tee shirt with a band she didn't know, and a red corduroy jacket. His hair was blond and spiked high on his head.

"Chris Keller." He stuck out his hand and Haley shook it.

"Haley James." She smiled, then caught eye of his guitar.

"Are you a singer?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. She loved music, it was always a childhood dream to be a singer. However, she knew the chances of ever making it.

"Yeah." He shrugged, as if it were common knowledge. "I'm singing the National Anthem before the game." He smirked, as if she were supposed to be speechless with amazement.

"That's amazing. I wish I could do that." She said out loud. It wasn't like she was ever going to see this guy again.

"Can you?" He asked, seeming a little bored.

"Well, I can play piano and I write my own songs. I sing too, but not in front of people." She admitted the truth. Lucas had heard her sing one time, when she was closing up the café and sat down at the piano. She hadn't known he was coming over, and he caught her singing. Of course, she made him swear not to tell and never sang for him again, even though he told her that she had a beautiful voice.

"Sing something for me right now." He turned so he was facing her completely.

Haley frowned, "No way."

"Oh come on." He rolled his eyes, but not in a playful way. In a way that says "you are so immature."

Haley didn't know why, but she felt like she needed to prove herself to him. Without telling him, she just began.

"_I love the time and in between_

_The calm inside me_

_In the space where I can breathe_

_I believe there is a_

_Distance I have wandered_

_To touch upon the years of_

_Reaching out and reaching in_

_Holding out holding in_

_I believe_

_This is heaven to no one else but me_

_And I'll defend it as long as I can be_

_Left here to linger in silence_

_If I choose to_

_Would you try to understand?" _

Haley stopped and turned red, realizing that she had only meant to sing a couple of verses.

Chris raised his eyebrows as if he were shocked that she could actually sing. "Not bad," he mused.

"Sing the National Anthem with me." He finally said, as the lights began dimming and the crowd began going crazy.

"What?" She yelled over the crowd as the announcer began calling out the names of each teams starting lineup.

"Nathan Scott!" His name pulled her away from her panic for a second. She started clapping as Nathan ran out onto center court. He looked over at her long enough to catch her eye and flash her a smile before turning his attention back to the court.

"Come on!" Chris urged her once again. "Stop being a baby. It's now or never." He held out his hand, an evil smirk playing across his face.

Temptation is Chris Keller.

Haley bit her lip, a habit that she usually obstained from.

"Okay." She said before she could think about the thousands of people that were going to be watching her. She had taken a risk with Nathan and look where that got here? Exactly where she wanted to be. Maybe this was the same kind of risk.

"And now…Chris Keller to sing the National Anthem!" The announcer called as girls' screams filled the building. Apparently Chris Keller was a lot more known than Haley had thought.

She walked with Chris to the middle of the court where there was one chair and a microphone. Chris motioned for Haley to sit on the chair and hold the microphone. She did as she was told, trying to focus on the distance instead of one the thousands of faces staring at her. Chris quickly pulled out his guitar and strapped it around him. Haley held the microphone between them, her hands shaking a little. She kept thinking any minute she was about to wake up.

His raspy voice made her jump as he spoke, "Hey guys. I'm Chris Keller and this is Haley James. We are going to be singing for you tonight!" At his words the screams started up again and Haley noticed a few hoots and hollers coming from guys' voices.

Chris began strumming his guitar and Haley suddenly felt like she could throw up at any second. In fact – she was pretty sure she was going to. She knew it was time to open her mouth to sing, so she did, and out came…words.

"_Oh-oh say can you see,_

_by the dawn's early light,_

_what so proudly we hailed,_

_at the twilight's last gleaming? _

_Who broad stripes and bright stars,_

_through the perilous fight,_

_or the ramparts we watched,_

_were so gallantly streaming. _

_And the rocket's red glare,_

_the bombs burst in air,_

_gave proof through the night,_

_that our flag was still there. _

_Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave,_

_O'er the land of the free, _

_and the home of the brave."_

The crowd exploded with applause and Haley's smile was threatening to pull all the muscles in her face. She had actually done it. She had sang. In front of people! The best part was as soon as she started singing, she hadn't been nervous anymore. It had just been…perfect.

As she followed Chris back to their seats, she caught Nathan's face. He wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked upset.

Haley frowned, trying to figure out what was the matter from a distance. He surely couldn't be upset that she had sung with Chris, could he?

XXXX

"Nathan!" Haley ran up to him after the game. They had won by a considerable amount of points.

Nathan turned away from Haley and clapped hands with one of his teammates.

Haley tried again, "Nathan?" She placed a hand on his arm and he pulled away.

"Don't you have a date with Chris Keller?" He said darkly, showing Haley a side she had never seen before.

"What are you talking about? Chris…I just sang with him! What is your problem?" She stopped walking after him.

"I saw him give you his number!" He also stopped walking and turned around to face him.

"Nathan! Do you hear yourself? He gave me his number to help with me with my music! Oh, and even if he did, what does that matter to you?" She raised her voice a little higher. Sure, Nathan had asked her to be his girlfriend, but who knows what "girlfriend" meant to him.

Nathan took a deep breath. He was overacting a little – he had to admit that. It was just that when he saw Haley singing with Chris he couldn't help but feel something he had never felt before.

Jealousy is Nathan Scott.

"I'm sorry." He started, taking a step back towards Haley. "Can we go get some hot chocolate and talk?" He asked, his voice considerably softer.

Haley couldn't help but smile a little at Nathan's too-cute attempt to make things right. "Sure."

XXXX

"It's okay Nathan!" Haley laughed after he kissed her again. "I forgive you!"

Nathan had apologized for acting the way he had, admitting that he had felt jealous. Of course, Haley teased him a little, but only playfully.

"Hey." She said, taking a sip of her coffee. "I want to know about you. I've already told you so much about me." It was true, on all of their outings Nathan had asked tons of questions, but had never reveled a lot about himself. Not really personal things anyway.

"What do you want to know?" He smiled, also taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Where are your parents?" It was a simple question, one that she expected and easy answer to.

Nathan however, took a deep breath and allowed a long pause. "My mom is living here in New York. But…she's in rehab. She's addicted to prescription drugs."

Haley reached out and grabbed Nathan's hand. "I'm so sorry."

"I've never told anyone that." He said more to himself than anyone. "You make me do strange thing Haley James."

Haley didn't know what to say to this, so she just smiled and waited for Nathan to continue.

"My dad…well, I never met him. He left after he got my mom pregnant."

At this, Haley dropped Nathan's hand and put her own hands on her mouth. This was too similar.

"Nathan…is your mom's last name Scott?"

Nathan gave her a confused look and shook his head, "No, it was my dad's – who knows why she gave it to me. Maybe she thought he would come back."

As Nathan said this, Haley kept shaking her head over and over. "This is not happening." She whispered, reaching for her cell phone.

"Who Haley!" Nathan caught her hands. "What's going on?"

"Is your dad's name Dan?" She whispered again, looking him in the eye.

It was Nathan's turn to shake his head, "How…how did you know that?"

"I think my best-friend is your brother."

XXXX

A/N: There it is! The secret is out:o) Hope you liked it! There are only about four more chapters left!

Next up! Brucas!

He


	8. Now You Know

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or The Holiday

Note: Sorry this took so long!

XXXX

"I swear, I'm feeling fine." Brooke said again as Lucas tried to get her to drink another bottle of water. "It was a twenty four hour thing. I'm over it!"

"I'm just worried about you." He teased, placing a hand on her forehead to mockingly check her temperature.

"That's sweet-" Brooke in return faked a gag.

"Ha. Ha." Lucas rolled his eyes but also took her hand in his at the same time.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while before Lucas spoke up.

"Can I tell you something?" Lucas asked quietly, to which Brooke nodded. She had already told him everything about her, from her childhood with absent parents to her favorite episode of FRIENDS. No one knew more about her than Lucas. She was scared telling him so much at first, but as soon as she started talking she couldn't stop. It felt so good to be completely honest with someone.

"I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just going to come right out say it." Lucas struggled to get the words out. He wanted to be honest with Brooke like she had been with him.

Brooke felt her heart speed up, this could be really bad, or really good.

"I have HCM."

"You have a STD!" Brooke's eyes widened and she dropped his hand. "I can't believe that you wouldn't-"

Lucas busted out laughing. By the time he could calm himself down, he was basically crying.

"No, Brooke," he managed to get out before another outburst of laughter, "HCM isn't a STD, it is a heart condition."

Brooke was still wondering why he thought having an STD was funny and how many ways she could kill him without getting caught when he uttered those words.

"A…what?" Her tone showed that she was confused and worried at the same time.

"It's a heart condition. I have to take medication everyday to keep my heart from overworking itself." He said, not looking Brooke in the eyes anymore. The laughter was gone now.

"Lucas-" Brooke tried to say something, but her voice cracked.

"With the medication, I'm fine, I promise. I just wanted to be honest with you." He finally met her gaze.

Brooke still didn't know what to say, so she pulled him into a hug. Somehow she knew that she didn't really need to say anything. Her just accepting what he had said to say was enough. Her just being with him was enough.

Then, his phone rang.

Lucas said hello, but then was silent for a few minutes before speaking.

"Are you drunk?" Lucas questioned as he stopped walking. Brooke gave him a curious glance, but he wasn't looking at her.

"Lucas – I am not drunk." Haley urged, "I'm not on drugs, I haven't had any special mushrooms on my pizza…" She continued rambling on.

"Haley- how can I have a brother that I don't even know about." Lucas deadpanned.

"Lucas! Seriously? You've never met your father! He left. You can't tell me that you thought he just faded into oblivion? Of course he was going to go out and keep living."

Lucas rubbed his temples, "Actually, Haley – I did think that he faded into oblivion. I mean, like you said. I've never met him. For all I know, he's just a myth my mother created. Maybe I was really brought by a stork." Lucas remarked, although he was starting to think. Of course Dan Scott hadn't stopped living after he let him and his mother. It was just that Lucas had never thought about Dan as a regular man. Dan had always been the coward who couldn't handle responsibility. He had always been the guy who broke his mother's heart and left him growing up without a father. Thinking that he was out there in the world just living was…weird.

"Lucas? Are you listening to me?" Haley shouted through the phone.

"Sorry, I just…Haley, how can you be sure about this. I mean, this is the kind of thing you see in the movies. It doesn't really happen."

"Lucas, his father's name is Dan Scott. He left Nathan's mom right when he found out about his mother's pregnancy. It's too similar not to be related."

"Haley-" Lucas started, shooting a still confused Brooke and apologetic glance.

"Lucas- can you just email me a picture of him. Please? I know your mom or Keith must have one. Just so I can show Nathan. Then we will know, because Nathan's seen pictures too. Please."

"Alright Hales, I'll send a picture when I get home." He sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

"Thank you!" Haley practically screamed into the receiver. "Send it as soon as you can!"

Lucas sighed again as he closed his phone. Brooke raised an eyebrow, something that made Lucas' heart jump every time.

"I think we need to sit down."

XXXX

Brooke couldn't believe the story either. Not because it sounded too much like a Josh Harnett movie, but because she knew Nathan and now she knew Lucas. They were nothing alike, absolutely nothing alike. Even given the fact that had never met, wouldn't there still be something similar between them?

"But…" Brooke started to ask another question.

"I know as much as you Brooke." Lucas shrugged, turning on the light.

"This is your old room?" Brooke changed the subject, sensing the stressed tone of Lucas' voice.

"Yep," He smiled, remembering all the memories he had of the room. Brooke promised herself that if she never remembered anything else about Lucas, she would remember that smile.

"So- we are looking for a picture of your father?" Brooke stated the obvious, afraid to help Lucas start looking around his room. This, after all, was his private space. That's not why Brooke stopped herself from snooping though – it was almost as if the room were locked in a certain point of time, as if it were untouchable, or as if you had to have permission to be a part of it.

"I don't think I'd have on in here," Lucas frowned, "But maybe my mom would have one in her room. I'll go look and you can wait in here." Lucas retreated from the room and Brooke let out a long breath.

Her eye caught a line of pictures taped to his mirror. Walking over, she took in all the happy faces. Most of them were of Haley and Lucas at all different ages. Some were of Lucas playing basketball with a couple guys she recognized. The basketball pictures brought back their earlier discussion about his HCM. There as a split instance were Brooke thought that she could loose him and she had never felt more scared than in that one second. It was a strange feeling that about another person. Especially about a guy she just met.

Then there was one corner full of Lucas and Peyton, the blond from TRIC. In all of the pictures they were touching in some way, either Lucas' hand was wrapped around his waist or she was kissing his cheek. Brooke was surprised by the jealousy that flooded through her. Brooke Davis was never jealous of anyone. People were jealous of her.

She was even more surprised when Lucas wrapped his arms around her from behind, much like one of the pictures she was looking at. Brooke jumped, "You scared me!" She said loudly, more because she was embarrassed about what she had just been feeling than because she was scared.

"I got a picture." He held it in front of Brooke so she could see.

"So you going to send it to Haley?"

"Yeah, I have to go to Peyton's – she has a scanner." He grabbed his keys off the bed where he had thrown them, "Ready?"

Brooke suddenly felt very upset by the fact that Lucas new Peyton had a scanner – which was probably the most absurd thing she could feel.

"Why don't I just take a picture of the picture with my phone? It would be much quicker." She suggested, pulling out her phone.

"I never thought of that. You're a genius."

Brooke shrugged, "I know."

Lucas laughed, giving her a quick kiss. He couldn't help himself.

They quickly took the picture and sent it to Haley's phone. Neither knew what to do next. Was Haley going to call right back? What if they were brothers? What would happen next?

Lucas' phone rang almost instantly. He took a deep breath.

"Hello?"

XXXX

"What do I do now?" Lucas asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

Brooke bit her lip, and took his hand, "It's up to you and Nathan I guess. This is a lot to take in. But Luke, he's a really good guy. A lot different than you," Brooke let out a small laugh, "but a good guy all the same."

Lucas shook his head again, "My mom freaked."

Brooke took in a deep breath. Karen had freaked, along with Lucas' uncle Keith. She yelled a lot about how Dan should have learned his lesson. Then she yelled about how Dan could have at least told them that Lucas had a brother. Then she calmed down, telling Lucas that it was up to him – he could meet Nathan or he could keep on going like he never knew.

"I think I want to meet him. I mean, I have to meet him. Now that I know…Do you think he wants to meet me?" Lucas asked all in one breath.

"I know he does." Brooke urged Lucas on, rubbing the hollow spot in his back.

"It's a small world isn't it?" Lucas finally let out a laugh, relieving some of his stress.

"That it is." Brooke giggled, giving him a quick kiss.

"So, want to go to TRIC or just skip the "do a little dance part" and go straight to the "make a little love" part?" Brooke smirked evilly, biting her lip seductively.

Lucas laughed loudly, and Brooke cherished the moment. She loved making him laugh. "I love you." He laughed some more, not realizing that Brooke had frozen.

"What-" She whispered, ignoring the fact that the wind was blowing her bangs in her face. They had been sitting on an old picnic table at the River court, watching the ferries pass since Lucas' talk with his mom. He had said that he needed some time to breath, and he had automatically led them to his favorite place.

Lucas' mouth dropped open, "I didn't mean, I'm sorry, I don't want to freak you out-"

"I love you too." Brooke whispered again, cutting him off. "It's so weird that I do, I mean, we barely know each other. We are so different, I've never even been in lo-"

It was Lucas' turn to cut Brooke off, this time with a kiss.

Brooke let herself get lost, moving closing into Lucas' chest as the boats all around passed them by. Right now, it didn't matter that she was about to go back to New York. It didn't matter that this moment couldn't last forever. For all Brooke cared, the world could keeping going on as it pleased because for a moment, if only for a moment, she was completely happy and completely in love for the first time in her life.

XXXXX

A/N: THREE CHAPTERS LEFT!!!


	9. Let's Be Friends!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or The Holiday.

Note: Sorry for the wait!

"Did you ever think this could happen?" Haley mused out loud as she lightly tapped her foot anxiously on the cheaply carpeted floor.

Nathan shook his head, glad that the loud noise from the airplanes was clouding the silence. He had been too nervous to even carry on a conversation with Haley all morning. He was about to meet his brother, a brother that he just found out that he had.

"What's he like?" Nathan finally asked, looking at the arrival boards in vain again.

Haley smiled, and took Nathan's hand to comfort him. "He's really great. He's my best friend in the entire world. He's sort of quite until you get to know him, that's when he really shines. Once he lets you in, it's really amazing." She paused, Lucas' face coming to mind. She really did miss her friend.

Nathan, however, gave her a look, and she could feel his grip tighten on her hand, which caused her to laugh. "Don't worry; he's always just been a friend. I can't even think about him in any other way. Trust me, that would be gross."

Nathan nodded, and Haley continued. "He loves basketball too, which I guess is something that both of you share. He used to play in high school, and he wanted to play for college, but he found out he has a heart condition." Now it was time to frown as she remembered when he had found out. At the time, his heart had literally broken. Haley's had too. It's painful to see dreams taken away from someone you love.

"But he's okay now, as long as he takes his medication and moderates his exercise. Plus, he still has his other passion, which is literature. He wants to write a book."

Nathan kept nodding along, trying to figure out the kind of person Lucas was. You could hear about a person all your life, but you can never really know what they are like until you meet them.

"This is going to be weird isn't it?" Nathan put his head in his hands, ruffling his already messing hair, something that Haley found irresistibly attractive.

"It will be fine. You are both really good guys and I think you will get along great."

"I hope so."

XXXX

"Lucas, you need to stop drinking so much." Brooke urged, motioning the flight attendant on.

"I can't help it. I drink like this when I am nervous." He took another gulp of his sprite. Soft drink guzzling always calmed his nerves.

"Well, I think you've had enough soda. Just try and relax now." She smiled, taking his hand. They were about to land in New York – the captain had already announced their descent.

When Lucas had decided that he wanted to meet Nathan, they had booked flights to New York because Nathan couldn't miss any practices. Brooke and Lucas decided to head up a few days early so Lucas could spend some time with Nathan and then fly home on the same flight as Haley. However, Lucas' departure was not something Brooke wanted to focus on.

"You're right." Lucas sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Tell me a little more about him."

Brooke rolled her eyes since she had already told Lucas all she knew, but began anyway. "He's really great. Obviously, he loves basketball, like you. He's sort of a lady's man, but that could have changed since I left. From talking to him, it seems like she has quite a hold on him." She smiled, glad that maybe Nathan had found the same thing she had after months of their meaningless, physical relationship.

"So how come he didn't have an effect on you?" Lucas asked, taking a smaller sip of sprite.

Brooke bit her lip. Crap. This was going to be a little awkward.

"Well…" She began, focusing her eyes on the in-flight magazine in the pocket in front of her, "We sort of had a thing."

Lucas dropped his jaw, "what?" Brooke, the girl that he just met and already loved, had had a thing with his brother whom he was about to meet. Was he living in the Twilight Zone? Where are the cameras? Where's Ashton Kutcher?

"It didn't mean anything," Brooke urged, hoping that Lucas wouldn't be upset. "We just had a purely physical thing. I swear. I've never felt like this," Brooke squeezed his hand, "about anyone before. This is it." She kissed him lightly on the lips, glad that he wasn't pulling away.

Lucas smiled into the kiss. Maybe this was the Twilight Zone, but why couldn't he be happy? He trusted Brooke and he loved her. That was what mattered.

"Okay, let's do this."

XXXX

"So, I guess I'm your brother." Lucas shrugged, locking eyes with Nathan. Brooke and Lucas had just walked through the airport terminal to where Haley and Nathan had been waiting. Lucas and Haley had immediately embraced each other, so happy to be together again. Brooke and Nathan had given each other a nice hug, one that told the other that what they had was okay, but it was over, and now they could just be friends.

"Yeah." Nathan added, staring back at the blond haired guy that looked nothing like him.

Haley and Brooke both looked back and forth between the two brothers and then at each other. Brooke, even though this was the first time she had met Haley in person, knew the look that Haley was giving her.

"Haley!" Brooke said a little too loudly, pulling Haley into a hug. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! How about we go grab a taxi and the boys can get the luggage?"

Haley, who appreciated Brooke's plan even though she was a little dramatic, smiled, "Yeah, that sounds good. We'll meet you two in the front."

The girls hurried off before Lucas or Nathan could say anything.

"Well that wasn't obvious." Nathan had to laugh, as Brooke pulled Haley in the right direction of the terminal.

"Yeah," Lucas laughed too, glad that it wasn't worse.

"So…" Lucas said as he followed Nathan through the airport. Neither one really knew what to say.

"So." Nathan repeated, wishing he had the social talents of Brooke.

"You play basketball?" Lucas asked, remembering a fact that had frozen in the back of his mind.

"Yeah, NYU. I heard you do too." He smiled. Basketball was easy to talk about. You could talk about basketball with any sports lover.

"Not big time like you." Lucas joked, falling in step with Nathan.

"I heard about that, sorry man. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't play." Nathan said honestly, feeling really horrible for even bringing it up.

But Lucas just shrugged. "I didn't at first. But I'm living with the problem. I still get to play for fun, just not all the time as I would like."

"You could come to a practice with me and the team." Nathan spoke his words before really thinking them. The awkwardness had somehow subsided with out either of them noticing.

"That would be really cool." Lucas said, actually meaning it. "Thanks man."

"No problem." Nathan said, picking up some bags that he knew were Brooke's as Lucas grabbed his own bag.

"I think we should just focus on being friends before brothers, like we are now." Lucas took a chance in bringing this up already.

"Yeah," Nathan smiled, "I think that would be a good idea."

XXXX

Brooke and Haley didn't talk until they were both securely in a cab.

"So I'm Brooke." She smiled, catching her breath.

"And I'm Haley."

They both shook hands and the burst out laughing. The situation was just so strange that there was nothing to do but laugh.

"So, I'm the girl who is falling in love with your neighbor." Haley smiled, looking out the window at the distant New York City skyline.

"And I'm the girl who is in love with your best friend." Brooke smiled too, her eyes lighting up as she thought of the blond Scott brother.

"So I guess as much as Lucas and Nathan hate their dad, we owe him a thank you."

"Amen, sister." Brooke agreed and leaned back into the seat.

For some reason, there was no awkwardness between the two girls. It was like they already knew so much about each other from living the other's life.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Brooke whispered even though there was no reason to.

"Sure," Haley looked at Brooke expectantly.

"I didn't want to leave Tree Hill." She gave a tiny smile, as if she were embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Haley said in response.

Brooke turned her head so she was looking at her, "I don't want to leave New York."

XXXX

A/N: TWO CHAPTERS LEFT


	10. Perfect Holiday

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or The Holiday. Also, there is one line in here from the show, so I don't own that either.

Note: Almost finished! I'm going to be sad when this is over:o( One more chapter after this! Oh, and please go check out my new story, "Queen of Diamonds."

XXXX

"Thanks man, this was awesome." Lucas said, still in amazement over the last two hours.

"No problem, you really held you own out there." Nathan laughed, tossing Lucas a Gatorade.

"Tried to," Lucas corrected, even though he was pretty proud of himself for being able to hold his own with college basketball players with his HCM.

Nathan laughed, "Give yourself some more credit man! You should have seen me my first week at NYU. I got my ass kicked."

Lucas joined Nathan by laughing as they stepped out into the cool night air.

"Well you must have been good enough to get that scholarship!"

"Yeah, I think my motivation was what got me in. I was practically begging the scouts at basketball games. I knew that if I didn't get into college, I was going to turn out just like my mom." Nathan's voice got lower as he spoke the last few words, and he began to regret opening his mouth.

Lucas noticed that Nathan was uncomfortable, but didn't really know what to say. "Nathan…Haley told me about you mom. I'm sorry that things went so badly for her after Dan…"

"Yeah." Nathan cut him off. It was too soon to talk about all of this.

Lucas waited a minute, taking a sip of his Gatorade before speaking, "He's a bad guy Nathan, I spent a long time hating him for what he did to my mom. Now knowing that he did it to you and your mom too, well, I know it sucks to talk about it. But I'm here if you decide you want to, okay?"

The silence returned as the Scott brothers tried to figure out what they wanted to say to each other, or even if they wanted to say anything at all.

Finally, Nathan smiled, and punched Lucas lightly on the arm, "Thanks big bro."

Lucas shook his head and laughed, "Anytime little brother."

"So, what time are we supposed to meet the girls?" Nathan asked while looking at the digital watch he had had for years.

"Um," Lucas looked at his own watch, "We have about thirty minutes. What's going on with you and Haley anyway?"

Nathan shook his head, "I don't know man. I really like her. I mean, I could fall in love with her easily." Nathan's thoughts flashed to Haley, and even that ugly poncho she had. He wondered how Lucas had never fallen in love with her. How could you not? But then again, he seemed to have a connection with Brooke that he had never had.

"I can tell she's crazy about you." Lucas added as they crossed the street, a few girls recognizing Nathan and giggling. "But it seems like that's common."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, that gets old. At least, it's old now. I can't even think about anyone other than Haley. But hey – what about you and Brooke?" Nathan turned the conversation to his brother.

"She's one of a kind." Lucas laughed, Brooke's dimples flashing through his mind. "I don't know what I'm going to do when I have to go back to Tree Hill."

Nathan knew the feeling, "Yeah, I wish Haley wasn't going with you."

"What did these girls get us into?" Lucas shook his head in frustration.

"I don't know, but I know we are in over our heads."

XXXX

"You can keep that." Brooke motioned to a sweater that Haley was hanging up in Brooke's closet; she had borrowed it a few days before.

"Really?" Haley asked, pulling the sweater back off the hanger, "I can pay you for it."

Brooke rolled her eyes, "No way. I never even wear that anymore. Plus, it looks much better with your skin color.

"Thanks Brooke." Haley grinned, folding the sweater and placing it into her bag. "I can't believe I have to leave tomorrow."

Both girls frowned. The past couple of days had been really great. Nathan and Lucas had been getting along and going to Nathan's basketball practices and Brooke had been taking Haley to all the best stores in New York City. Now it was over, and they had to return to their real lives. The trouble was, no one really knew what that was anymore.

"I can't believe it either." Brooke admitted, sitting down on the edge of her bed, "I'm so in love with Lucas. I just…I feel like I don't even belong her anymore." Brooke motioned to the beautiful room around her, realizing that it had never really felt like home. She actually missed the coziness of Tree Hill.

"I was talking to Lucas about you last night." Haley admitted, looking at the expression on Brooke's face.

Brooke took her gaze off of her bedroom wall and put it on Haley.

"He's crazy about you Brooke. You should talk to him about how you are feeling."

Brooke shook her head, "I can't. It would be too soon, wouldn't it? I can't tell him that I want to stay in Tree Hill, we barely even know each other!"

"What else do you need to know?" Haley raised an eyebrow, looking a lot like Brooke.

"Well what about you! Have you told Nathan that you want to stay in New York?"

Haley looked away, "No."

"See, it's not that easy!" Brooke through up her hands and fell backwards onto her bed.

"But it's probably worth it."

XXXX

"I have to say Fight Club." Haley decided, taking another bite of her pizza.

"Fight Club? What's that?" Brooke asked, her eyebrows coming together to show her confusion.

"You haven't seen Fight Club!" Nathan and Lucas said in surprise at the same time, causing Haley to laugh and Brooke to shrug.

"Brad Pitt's in it…" Haley tried again.

"Oh! I have seen that! I read the book in high school too. It's the one where he has the split-"

"Shhh!" Everyone hushed Brooke at the same time. "Don't ruin it for everyone else!" Nathan continued, shooting his trash into the trashcan across the room.

"Everyone else who?" Brooke looked around. They were all seated in the corner of a tiny café downtown, where they had been for hours.

"Just…you know…you just have to be careful." Lucas finished for Nathan and Haley had to roll her eyes.

"Lucas throws fits like a fifth grader when people spoil the endings of books or movies." Haley explained, taking the piece of gum Brooke was now offering her.

"I'll bet…" Brooke smiled, leaning back into Lucas' chest as he wrapped an arm around her stomach.

"Guys, you can at least wait for up to leave before you go all hormonal on us." Nathan joked, although he really liked seeing Brooke happy, and the more time he spent with Lucas, the more he found himself glad they had decided to meet.

"Hey," Lucas pointed his finger at the couple across the table, "Don't pretend like we don't know you two have been playing footsie under the table this whole time."

"Yeah," Brooke interjected, "You got me a couple times Nate."

At that Haley blushed, "Actually, that might have been me."

All four of them busted out laughing at this, and if anyone would have passed by the cafe at that moment and looked in on the four, they probably would have been incredibly jealous. Nothing can beat the expressions of four people making new friends and falling in love.

When they finally quieted down, Brooke stood up, pulling on Lucas' old sweatshirt that she had stolen. "Okay, this is fun, but if I don't get to make out with Lucas as soon as-"

"Go!" Haley yelled, shaking her head. "I think we'll be fine."

"That's right you'll be fine." Brooke winked and skipped out the door, pulling a laughing Lucas behind her.

XXXX

Nathan and Haley watched Lucas and Brooke until they went passed the windows of the café.

"That was fun." Nathan admitted, putting his arm around Haley. He was going to miss her more than he understood. He already missed her and she was sitting right next to him.

"It was." Haley smiled to herself since Nathan couldn't see her face.

"Lucas is really cool. You were right."

"I usually am." Haley shrugged, earning a laugh from Nathan.

"Were you right about me? I mean, do you think you might have to pull out that fork again?" He smirked, something that always made Haley's face heat up, but in a good way.

"No, you're safe. Just remember to knock." She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I wish you didn't have to go tomorrow." He thought out loud, and Haley was silent. If he could have seen her face, he would have seen the struggle in her eyes. The struggle to decide what to say or if she should say anything at all.

"Haley?" He asked, leaning back so he could look into her face.

"What if I didn't leave?" She whispered, hoping to God that this wasn't going to be a mistake. She didn't make sudden decisions like this. Well, not until the past couple of weeks anyway.

"You mean you could stay a few more days?" Nathan ventured, even though he could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't just talking about a few days. He just didn't want to get too hopeful.

"No. What if I were to live here?" She said, holding her breath.

Nathan looked at her for a long time and Haley couldn't tell what he was thinking. Maybe he was happy, or maybe he was trying to figure out how to get rid of her.

But then he spoke, and he said everything that she needed to hear.

"I think that I love you."

XXXX

"Can…you…I…" Brooke tried to talk in between Lucas' kisses, but it was a very difficult task.

"I…Lucas!" She finally said loudly, and he stopped, eyes wide with shock.

"I need to talk to you." She said loudly, standing up from the bed and pacing the floor in front of him.

"Why are you yelling?" He asked, worry in his voice.

Brooke shook her head, "I talk loudly when I get really nervous." She admitted.

"Ok…" Lucas offered to get Brooke back on track.

"I…this is so hard…" Brooke, who was never one to be short on words, looked around her room frustrated.

"Brooke, what is it?" He stood up, placing his hands on her hips to stop her from running into her dresser.

Brooke put hand to her head trying to calm her thoughts.

"Hey…what is it?" Lucas tried again, placing his hand on the other side of her face as hers slid to her side.

"Just tell him that you want to go to Tree Hill, just come out and say it" She tried to mentally prepare herself. Haley has probably already told Nathan.

She looked up into his eyes and let out her breath. "Just tell him." She thought once more before opening her mouth.

"Will you marry me?"

There. She had done it. She had told him- Brooke's hands flew to her mouth. Why had she said that?

Lucas' hand had dropped from his face and the expression on his face was one that she hadn't seen before.

"I..I don't know why I said that. That's not what I wanted to say. Oh god." Brooke turned away from him and began pacing again.

"I really didn't mean that, I don't want to get married. I mean, I'm young, I'm hot, you live in Tree Hill, I liv-"

Lucas' lips on hers cut off her rambling. Shock, confusion, and happiness shot through her all at once.

Finally, Lucas pulled back, his heart beating faster than he ever thought possible.

"Crazy girl, what are you doing to my heart?" He whispered, gently brushing aside a piece of hair that had fallen in her face.

"Yes." He said loudly after a moment of silence

"What?" Brooke's mouth dropped open as her own heart jumped into her throat.

"I said yes, I want to marry you. I want to spend forever with you Brooke Davis."

XXXX

"I'm going to miss you so much Hales." Lucas wrapped his arms around his best friend. "It's not going to be the same without you."

Haley wiped a few tears from her cheek, "It's not going to be the same without you either." She gave Lucas another tight hug. "I love you Luke."

"I love you too Haley." He smiled, wiping a tear from her face. "I'll send you all your stuff once I get back."

Haley laughed, "Good, because Brooke's apartment…Well, soon to be my apartment, is pretty empty!" Haley couldn't believe her luck when Brooke's parents agreed to let Brooke rent out the apartment to Haley. Everything had just fallen together so nicely. Well, Haley still had to find out if she was going to be accepted as a transfer at NYU, but things were looking pretty good.

Brooke also felt amazingly lucky. She was getting married to the greatest guy in the world (her opinion, but she'd always had good taste) and Tree Hill college had eagerly accepted her. Her parents had been a little tough, but her father had been wanting to buy a new yacht and the severe cut in tuition was right up his ally. Her mother made a few comments about her being too young to marry, but after a long talk (a first between the two Davis women) her mother was happy for her.

Lucas' mom was the toughest. She was shocked when she heard the news and actually pretty angry about all the sudden decisions. But Lucas promised Brooke that once Karen got to know her better, she would love her as much as he did.

"Flight 204 to Charleston is now boarding."

Haley, Nathan, Brooke, and Lucas all looked at each other silently, amazed at how fast life could change.

"Don't be a stranger." Nathan stuck out his hand for Lucas to shake, but Lucas stepped in and gave Nathan a hug. "Take care of yourself and Hales little brother."

"Will do. And you two don't forget to send us an invitation to the big wedding."

"How could I? You are the best man." He smiled at the shock, but good shock, on Nathan's face.

"And you're the maid of honor." Brooke pinched Haley's side, causing Haley to give Brooke an excited hug.

"Final boarding call for flight 204 to Charleston."

"I guess we have to go." Brooke smiled, lacing her fingers, one of which was adorned with a tiny, but perfect, diamond Lucas had surprised Brooke with that morning.

"What a holiday." Lucas shook his head, giving Nathan and Haley one more hug.

"What a holiday." Nathan repeated, shaking his head as he gave Brooke a kiss on the cheek.

"A perfect holiday." Brooke and Haley said together, realizing just how perfect it really was.

XXXX

A/N: Please review! Only one chapter left! And please check out my new story "The Queen of Diamonds."


	11. Thanks for the Memories,and So Much More

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or The Holiday. Also, there are a couple places where I altered some lines from the show. I don't own those either.

Note: Okay, first I have to say thank you SO SO much for everyone who reviewed at any point during this story. Every single one meant more than you know and made this story even better to write. I'm sad that this is it – the final chapter – but I'm pretty happy with how this story, which was just supposed to be a quick holiday fiction, turned out. I hope y'all like how everything is wrapped up! Who knows – The Fourth of July is right around the corner, maybe a holiday reunion is in the works. **Wink wink**

XXXX

_**Two Years Later**_

"She's not picking up the phone!" Brooke whispered, pointing to Lucas' cell phone, which she was using.

"Why are you whispering?" He laughed, the huge smile that had been plastered on his face for the last twenty-four hours widening.

"I'm excited!" She smiled back, jumping up and down as the phone continued to ring.

"Hello?" Karen finally answered the phone. "Lucas?"

Brooke jabbed the phone again and looked at Lucas to signal that she had picked up.

"Actually, this is Brooke." She finally said, her voice a little shaky with excitement.

"Oh, hey Brooke. How are you?" Karen said a little absentmindedly. She was probably still at the café.

Over the past year, Karen and Brooke had grown really close (just as Lucas had promised). IN the beginning, Karen was not a fan of the marriage. But she and Brooke talked a lot over the weeks leading up to the wedding, and even Karen couldn't deny that Brooke and Lucas grew closer and more in love everyday. Finally, on their beautiful wedding day, Karen gave Brooke and Lucas her full blessing, saying that she honestly knew they were meant for each other.

The wedding had been everything Brooke had dreamed of since she was a little girl. She had walked down the aisle of Tree Hill Chapel in an amazing white Cinderella gown that she had designed and made herself. Haley, Peyton, and a few girls from New York wore dark blue dresses that she also designed.

Lucas had almost fainted with happiness when the back doors opened and Brooke walked down the aisle, on the arm of her father. He had never seen anyone more beautiful; her dark hair, curled just slightly, fell under the vale that covered her face.

When it came time to lift the vale and say their vows, Lucas had no doubt that he had made the right decision.

Their vows didn't leave a dry eye in the Chapel.

_"When I first announced to everyone that Brooke and I were going to get married, I remember saying to all the doubters, 'Prepare to be surprised.' Well, I have to say even I was surprised at how deeply I've fallen in love with you; because, you see we do something that's very rare to see in someone our age. Actually, it's very rare to see in anybody; we give our hearts to each other, unconditionally. And, that's what true love really is. It's not this fairytale life that never knows pain, but it's two souls facing it together and diminishing it with unconditional love. I'm ready to do that with you Brooke Penelope Davis. I'm ready to love you forever."_

_"I'm not the most eloquent speaker, so I thought I would borrow a few words from Shakespeare. 'Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.' When life gets hard, when things change, true love remains the same. I look at you and some how I feel safer. I don't know if I can explain it, but you give me hope. And sometimes, I'm afraid say it out loud because maybe if life finds out it'll try to beat it out of us, and that will be a shame. But looking at you now, I believe that we have what it takes, I know that we have what it takes, to love each other forever. I have every hope in tomorrow, because we all can use a little hope sometimes, you know. That feeling that everything's going to be okay and that there's going to be someone there to help make sure of that. So, here's to you and me, and here's to hope, and here's to a love that will not alter." _

Two years later, there had been tears, fights yelling, but mostly laughter, love, and kisses. Now, there was going to be a little something more.

"Brooke?" Karen asked again, bringing Brooke back to attention.

"Karen, I need to ask you something really important." Brooke kept her tone very serious.

"What's going on Brooke?" Karen asked worriedly.

"Well, I need to ask you a favor – and I understand if you don't want to, it's a really big favor, and-" Brooke was rambling very fast, and Karen had to try multiple times to stop her.

"Brooke! Brooke! Just ask, whatever it is! Is everything okay with you and Lucas? You can tell me if…"

"No, everything is fine with me and Lucas, but I wanted to ask you if…well, we wanted to ask you if you would considering being a grandmother."

Silence.

"Karen?"

"You're pregnant!" Karen screamed, but in a good way.

Brooke smiled, and nodded at Lucas and they both ran into the café.

Karen dropped the phone and ran up to her son and daughter-in-law.

"You're pregnant!" Karen said again, wrapping her arms around Brooke.

Brooke laughed, dimples on full display. "I'm pregnant!"

"We found out last night." Lucas said when Karen turned to her son. She didn't think she'd ever seen him happier.

"Well, I certainly can't wait to be a grandmother." Karen smiled at the two and patted Brooke's stomach.

Brooke smiled again, leaning into Lucas' chest.

"We can't wait to be parents."

"Have you told Haley and Nathan yet?" Karen asked after calming down a little bit.

"Not yet." Lucas answered after a spoonful of the crab bisque Karen had placed in front of him and Brooke; "We're going to tell them tomorrow. I think they have something going on tonight."

"What are you talking about?" Karen asked, looking at both of them.

"Don't look at me," Brooke held up her hands, "The only thing he'll tell me is that I must watch the NYU/Duke basketball finals tonight."

"Okay…" Karen raised her eyebrows but Lucas didn't offer any more information.

"Well, guess we'll both find out tonight!" Brooke shrugged, taking the spoon from Lucas and grabbing a bite.

XXXX

"And here is Haley James to sing the National Anthem!" The announcer roared over the crowd, most there to see the game, but a good amount to see Haley.

Haley had been accepted to NYU, but the tuition had been too much to pay. Instead, she had taken online courses from the school, a much cheaper alternative, if less academically challenging.

Nathan was in his last year at NYU (Lucas and Haley had already entered into graduate school, Brooke was busy with her monthly column in Seventeen Magazine and her small, but growing, fashion line that sold in a few select stores on the east coast) and was getting looked at by professional scouts. This night was going to be very important to his future.

During all her spare time, Haley had met and performed with Chris Keller many times, launching a small fan base that was growing as quickly as Brooke's fashion line.

Haley stepped out onto the court, wearing an original dress by Brooke of course, and sang her heart out. She'd never been at a better place in her life. Things between her and Nathan were perfect. She was still his neighbor (even though he spent most of his time in her apartment) and they were still going stronger than ever.

It hadn't taken long for her to tell him that she loved him. Everything had been perfect.

"_I miss Lucas." Haley cried, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm sorry I'm acting like this, but I-"_

'_It's okay Haley, he's your best friend. You are going to miss him." Nathan tried to soothe her._

"_But it's been a month! You'd at least think that I could stop crying ever other day!" _

"_I promise that it's going to get better okay. I love you Haley James and I'm going to take care of you. Always and forever." He whispered, wiping more of her tears from her face._

_Haley smiled softly, "That's cheesy, but incredibly romantic." She leaned over and kisses him. "Thank you." _

_Nathan nodded and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you" hadn't really been the words he'd wanted to hear, but they'd do for now._

"_Okay, well I have practice early tomorrow so I'm going to hit the sack." Nathan announced, standing up reluctantly._

"_I'll walk you over." Haley said, getting up._

"_I live next door Hales." He laughed even though he was glad she was walking over._

"_Okay, well, night." He said at his door, giving her a quick kiss._

"_Night." Haley smiled as he closed the door. She turned to walk away, but then she felt that feeling in her heart, the one that told her she needed to say it now. She'd been holding it in too long, scared that things weren't going to work out in New York._

_She knocked on the door, and waited, biting a fingernail anxiously._

"_Yeah?" Nathan asked, pulling the door open._

"_I forgot to tell you something."_

"_What?"_

"_I love you."_

XXXX

Brooke turned up the volume on the TV. "She has such a beautiful voice. My column on her in last months Seventeen made the bosses crazy. They think she's the next big thing."

"And we know she is." Lucas agreed, taking a seat next to his wife (and child, if you wanted to look at it that way).

"So I get why we are watching the game, for Nathan and Haley, but why couldn't we have told them our news today?" Brooke asked as Haley came to the end of the song.

"I promised Nathan I wouldn't tell anyone!" Lucas told Brooke for the thousandth time.

She frowned, "You two really take this whole brother thing too seriously."

"Just watch."

XXXX

Haley finished the song and the crowd went wild. She began making her way off the court so the players could make their entrance, but something extremely out of the ordinary happened.

"Now, we have a special presentation. If Haley could just come back to center court." The announcer said as the surprised audience became as silent as Haley.

She stood there for a moment, wondering if maybe she was supposed to sing another song when she heard every girl in the audience start screaming.

Turning around, she saw Nathan, fully dressed out in his basketball uniform, walking towards her.

"Nathan- what is this-"

She said nothing more because all ability to speak left her as Nathan got down on one knee on the floor in front of her.

"Haley James," His voice carried through the arena thanks to the microphone in Haley's hand.

"Over the past year two years, I've learned so much about life and love. We've been through so much, good and bad. And even if I could, I wouldn't take back all the bad stuff that's happened between us, 'cause it brought us here, this moment. The first month you moved here, I told you how much I loved you and how I would always, always protect you. For a while, nobody believed that this would work. But I don't think anybody understood the love that I had, have, for you; because, if they did they would have never doubted us. So I want to say to you all over again in front of most of our world that I will always protect you and always be there for you. Because today, when I look into your eyes my love for you only grows. It's even stronger now and that love will never waver. This I vow to you today and always, forever. Marry me, Haley James. Marry me again in front of all our friends and our family."

Haley couldn't breath, but she could feel her heart beating a thousand times per second as Nathan pulled out a beautiful diamond ring.

"Will you marry me?" He repeated taking her empty hand, which happened to be her left.

"Yes." She whispered, but somehow the whole audience knew what she'd said because they burst into applause.

Haley didn't care about everyone else though. All she cared about was the man who was slipping the ring on her finger, and wiping the tears of happiness from her face, just as he'd just promised to do forever.

XXXX

"That was so beautiful!" Brooke cried, wiping her own tears away. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"I didn't want to spoil it!" Lucas responded, "Plus I was a little preoccupied with our own news." He leaned over and kissed her.

Brooke smiled into his kiss. "I'm glad we didn't tell them, this is her day."

'It's our day to." Lucas whispered in her ear as he placed his hands on either side of her and leaned over her.

Brooke giggled and said, "Looks like we are going on another holiday to New York," before tilting her head up to kiss the man she loved, something that she knew her best friend was doing a few states over.

XXXX

Haley sat down at the counter of Karen's café, waiting for Brooke. Nathan had went to meet Lucas at the River court for game.

"Haley James soon to be Scott!" Brooke screamed, running over to hug her best friend.

"Brooke Davis soon to be mother!" Haley laughed as she hugged Brooke back.

"Wow, how things have changed since we switched." Haley shook her head, remembering when she worked in this café.

"Yeah." Brooke agreed, "I'm so glad we did. But Hales," She said, looking at her friend.

"Yeah?"

"I wouldn't switch with you now for the world."

Haley matched Brooke's smile, "Me neither, I'm pretty happy where I am now. How about next time we go on a holiday, we go together?"

"Sounds perfect!" Brooke said, picking up the hot chocolate that was just placed in front of her and linking arms with Haley as they began their walk to the River court.

"Where to this time? The Bahamas? France? China?"

"Hmm…" Haley tapped her chin, "How about all of the above?"

"Perfect."

XXXX

A/N: The end! I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review! This is your last chance:o) Also, make sure to check out some of my other stories. In regards to a sequel, read the opening note. ;o) Thanks again for reading this!


	12. The Holiday: Summer Lovin

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or The Holiday

Note: A little preview…

The Holiday: Summer Lovin'

"Brooke- could you please just get in the car? He will be fine!" Karen urged, motioning Brooke towards the car where Lucas was loading their suitcases.

"I know, I'm just going to miss him so much." Brooke smiled down at the little boy in her arms. Landon Scott had just turned a year old three weeks ago.

"Brooke, we are both going to miss him, but I think we need this vacation." Lucas put an arm around his wife and kissed Landon's head softly. "Come on, we are going to miss our flight."

"Okay…" Brooke reluctantly passed Landon over to Karen, "You two be safe."

"Yeah Mom, no motorcycles or raves." Lucas joked, taking Brooke's hand and pulling her towards the car.

Once inside, Brooke pulled the plane tickets out of her purse. "Fiji. This really is going to be amazing." She sighed, rubbing her thumb over the top of Lucas' hand, which was resting on the gearshift.

"I know. I can't believe Nathan and Haley scored these tickets."

"I'm more surprised that Haley could take time off to even come. Don't celebrities always have to work?"

"Wouldn't you know?" Lucas looked at her, reminding Brooke of the incident last week.

"Lucas, I am not famous. Those photographers just took some pictures because Haley wore one of my dress to the Grammy's."

Lucas shook his head, "And don't forget Jessica Alba at the Oscar's. Give yourself some more credit." Brooke's clothing line had grown considerably over the past year, along with Haley's fame. Haley had been nominated for best new artist, although she hadn't gone away with the award, and Brooke's clothing line was a must for every celebrity it girl. Plus, Brooke's column in Seventeen had gotten her a permanent job at _Seventeen_, writing about whatever she chose. Both girls were doing extremely well. Not to mention the guys. Lucas was still in grad school, but had secured a job editing pieces _for Sport's Illustrated_. And speaking of _Sport's Illustrated_, Nathan had gotten recruited by the Lakers, where he was quickly making a name for himself.

"Well, I guess now that I think about it, you should be lucky to be married to such a star." Brooke smirked, bringing his hand up to her lips. After Landon had been born, things had gotten a little stressful for them. The fights came for often and the laughs were few. Brooke was struggling being a mom and handling a column and a fashion line while Lucas was trying to be a good dad and keep up with school. But no matter how bad it got, neither ever thought that they wouldn't pull through. Sure enough, about when Landon turned six months, things slowly started calming down. This trip was going to be a nice break for both of them – a time to just be with each other again.

XXXX

"Excuse me, can I have your autograph?" A little girl, about seven, smiled shyly up at Haley.

"Of course!" Haley smiled back from her seat on the overcrowded airplane and signed the napkin the girl had been holding.

"She is so cute!" Haley turned back to Nathan, who was playing a game on his phone. "Seriously, Nathan?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"What? This is going to be a long flight!" He shrugged, eating a couple of peanuts.

"Just be happy you aren't running drills right now."

"Trust me, I am. A week at the beach doing nothing sounds perfect to me." He relaxed into his seat a little, glad that Haley had remembered to give him a Benadryl for the flight.

"Well, you and Lucas will be doing nothing. Brooke and I will be shopping." Haley clarified, happy that she was only hours away from seeing her best friends.

"Because you and Brooke are in such desperate need of clothes. Right, I believe that." Nathan scoffed, going back to his game.

"Hey- you better be nice to me." Haley teased, taking the phone out of Nathan's hands and placing it on the tray table.

"And why is that?" He raised his eyebrows playfully at his wife.

'Because Brooke just started a new line of lingerie and she wants me to test it out. But if you want to—"

"I knew I was friends with Brooke for a reason," He interrupted, kissing Haley fully on the lips.

"Mmhmm." She grinned into the kiss, butterflies forming in her stomach. They were still very much in their honeymoon phase of marriage. She hoped it wasn't going to end anytime soon, but the constant stress of their jobs was getting to them. This vacation was just what they needed to relax and focus on spending time together – something that was very hard for two semi-celebrities. Oh, and it was also a good time to give Nathan the news.

XXXX COMING AUGUST 30TH! 


End file.
